Stabbing victim testifies at attempted murder trial in Rialto

Joseph Williams told a Westmoreland County jury he had no memory of the seconds before a violent encounter outside the former Rialto Cafe in downtown Greensburg that left him hospitalized with up to 10 stabbing.

Williams, 24, testified Tuesday during the second day of the trial of the Jeannette man charged with attempted murder that in the early morning hours of Nov. 24, 2022, he started the violent altercation inside the disco party of the bar while trying to help a friend while she was talking with Anthony J. Sharp.

“She gave me an embarrassed look so I turned my back on her and headbutted her. I threw the first headbutt. It was an error of judgment,” Williams testified. “I don’t remember anything after the headbutt until we were in the street and I was told I had been stabbed.”

Prosecutors say Sharp, 23, of Jeannette, used a pocket knife to stab and slash Williams as the two continued their fight after a previous confrontation moments earlier prompted the evacuation of the Rialto. Sharp is charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.

Defense attorney Stephen Colafella presented Williams with hospital medical records that determined hours after the fight that he had a blood alcohol level of 0.207 percent, more than twice that of a driver in Pennsylvania. is considered intoxicated. Williams, who testified he spent hours drinking with friends at his home and at two other bars before arriving at the Rialto, admitted he was drunk when he first confronted Sharp.

The incident ultimately led to the closure of the Rialto, which 11 months earlier had been the scene of a shooting that injured two men, including a bystander. Last year, the bar was declared a public nuisance and a county judge ordered it closed until it was sold.

The century-old business reopened with new ownership and a new name earlier this year.

Williams' friends were among a series of witnesses to testify during the second day of the trial and told jurors they thought the confrontation was over, only to be reignited by Sharp as they left the Rialto .

Macey Ebersole, 23, formerly of Greensburg, said Sharp and his group of friends were unprovoked when he confronted Williams.

“Joey stepped into the street. It was chaotic and I heard someone behind them say (Anthony Sharp) was going to beat him. The next thing I knew, Joey was in the street and (Sharp) was stabbing him,” Ebersole testified. “I just remember them breaking up. Everything happened so quickly.

Williams was stabbed multiple times during the melee, according to prosecutors.

Sharp is expected to argue that Williams was the aggressor and that he used the knife in self-defense to fend off his attacker.

Testimony in the case will continue Wednesday.