A downtown Kent bar co-owner was charged Nov. 2 with second-degree felonious assault after allegedly hitting a man in September.

Matthew Guska, the co-owner of 157 Lounge on South Water Street, allegedly hit a patron of the establishment in the head with a flashlight Sept. 23.

According to a police report, Guska allegedly struck Mohammed Raja Alanazi, 23, of Franklin Township in the head with a flashlight, causing serious physical harm. 

According to a police report obtained by the Record-Courier, Alanazi told police he was arguing with another man at the bar. When Guska came over, the two men physically grabbed Alanazi and carried him out. Guska’s flashlight was then taken once police realized there was blood on the end of his flashlight, which also doubles as a taser. 

The report also noted when Kent City Police arrived, Alanazi was bleeding from the left side of his forehead, and the injury required six stitches. 

Guska’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 16.

Guska is also set to appear in court on Feb. 11, 2019 for a complaint he filed in Oct. 18, 2017, alleging that he was defamed online by Sarah Andrews, a Kent State alumna.

Guska also filed a complaint in the Ohio Court of Claims against Kent State and one of its student-run magazines, Fusion, stating the magazine’s editor acted with “malicious purpose” and should be “personally held liable for his statements and actions” after posting an article accusing Guska of sexual harrasment.

Brandon Bounds is TV2’s enterprise producer. Contact him at [email protected].

Henry Palattella is the editor. Contact him at [email protected].