Three men were arrested after an alleged gang fight at a local McDonald’s restaurant.
On Dec. 8, police arrested Frankie Vernon Winiavski, 24, of 5205 E. Pierceton Road, Pierceton; Johnathan Michael Pappas, 24, of 519 W. Winona Ave.; and Coulter Matthew Slone, 19, of 1520 E. Winona Ave, Warsaw, in connection with the fight.
Warsaw Police Department officer Gordon Allen responded Dec. 8 to a fight in progress at the restaurant. He identified Winiavski and Pappas standing at the front counter. Both men had a red bandanna tied around their neck, according to a probable cause affidavit from the Kosciusko County Prosecutor’s Office. Allen observed Winiavski bleeding from the left eye and forehead.
Frankie Winiavski (Photo supplied/Kosciusko County Jail)
A restaurant employee told Allen that Slone also had been involved in the fight and showed him a box cutter that Slone had used, the affidavit states.
Slone told police he was jumped by Winiavski and Pappas, who yelled they were members of the Bloods street gang and were going to beat him up. Slone told police he used the knife to defend against the assault, but was unsure whether he cut Winiavski.
Johnathan Pappas (Photo supplied/Kosciusko County Jail)
Winiavski told police that he had been fighting with Slone on Facebook and said he wanted to fight him. Winiavski told police Slone started the fight, and he and Pappas fought back, according to court documents.
Police allege Winiavski told them he been a member of the Bloods for two years and is allowed to recruit members for the gang. Winiavski told police his gang was responsible for the “Rolling 20s” graffiti in Warsaw.
At the hospital, Allen observed tattoos on Winiavski and Pappas that were consistent with gang tattoos.
Winiavski was charged with one count of criminal gang activity, a level 6 felony; one count of battery, a class A misdemeanor; and disorderly conduct. Pappas was charged with one count of criminal gang activity, a level 6 felony; resisting law enforcement, a class A misdemeanor; and battery, a class A misdemeanor. Slone was charged with one count of battery while armed with a deadly weapon, a level 5 felony; one count of battery with moderate bodily injury, a level 6 felony; and disorderly conduct, a class B misdemeanor.
