Task force arrests 2nd suspect in brutal Aliquippa VFW beating

An Aliquippa man accused of nearly beating a fellow city resident to death inside a Veterans of Foreign Wars lodge was arrested Thursday.

Brett Ours, 39, was taken into custody without incident at a home along the 400 block of Allegheny Avenue in West Aliquippa.

Aliquippa police charged Ours with attempted homicide, possession of instruments of a crime, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of strangulation and three counts of simple assault.

Charges stem from the beating of Preston Coleman III, 52, inside the lodge on Aliquippa’s Penn Avenue on Jan. 5.

Coleman’s family last month said he was beaten, unprovoked and mercilessly for nearly 30 minutes.

Coleman’s face and head were so swollen from the beating that surgeons cut a tracheostomy tube into his neck so he could breathe, his daughters told reporters.

In total, police said Coleman was punched nearly 250 times.

Todd Hollis, a lawyer who represents the victim’s family, declined comment Thursday on Coleman’s condition or the next steps for the family.

“We have to allow the criminal process to play out,” Hollis said.

The arrest resulted from the combined efforts of multiple local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. led by the U.S. Marshals Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force.

“It’s a relief that he is now in custody and we can direct our attention to the preliminary hearing,” Beaver County District Attorney Nathan Bible said.

Ours was transported to Aliquippa police headquarters Thursday evening. He was arraigned. Bail was denied after he was designated a flight risk.

The department also posted information about the arrest on its Facebook page.

Not the only suspect

The attack on Coleman resulted in him being airlifted by medical helicopter to a hospital due to the severity of his injuries.

A second suspect, Ronald Brown, 43, of Ambridge, turned himself in to Aliquippa police and a district judge, court records show.

Brown was charged with three crimes including aggravated assault and liability for the conduct of another person after, police said, he punched Coleman up to seven times in the midst of the attack.

Ours held down the victim as Brown punched him in the head, neck and face, according to the criminal complaint.

At one point during the attack, Ours asked his girlfriend to give him his knife, video footage of the assault showed, the complaint said. She refused. So, Ours started yelling at her, then punched her in the face, police said.

Ours returned to Coleman, bludgeoning him with a bar stool and repeatedly strangling him, the complaint said. He sat on Coleman’s chest and punched him repeatedly in the face and head. according to police.

Relatives said they believe race may have triggered the attack. Ours and Brown are white. Coleman is Black.

Online court documents show Brown waived his case to court and a trial is scheduled to begin May 5.

A preliminary hearing for Ours is scheduled for Feb. 20.

He remains at the Beaver County Jail.