Woman, 102, Was Kicked In Shins By Attacker, 65
Nursing home visitor blames wheelchair-bound victim
OCTOBER 24--A 65-year-old Pennsylvania man has been charged with assault for allegedly kicking a 102-year-old woman in the shins while he was visiting his mother in a nursing home.
Police were summoned Saturday afternoon to the Jameson Care Center after a dispute between Michael Pavelek and centenarian Ruth Houston turned violent. 
The nursing home is located in Neshannock Township, about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh.
The home’s nursing director told a cop that the wheelchair-bound Houston began following Pavelek, who was there visiting his mother. Pavelek “apparently got annoyed,” so he “kicked her in the shin causing a large bruise or skin tear,” according to a criminal complaint.
Nurse Kaitlyn Burks told the officer that she saw Pavelek “kick Ruth Houston for apparently no reason.” Burks said that she yelled at Pavelek and grabbed Houston’s wheelchair in an attempt to “pull her away from Pavelek.”
Burks said she told Pavelek, “You’re going to hurt her.” To which he reportedly replied, “Good,” before kicking her a second time. “He then got in Burks face and became very confrontational before returning to his mothers room” reported Officer Jeremy Dewitt.
When questioned by the policeman, Houston was “very hard of hearing and seemed confused.” The nursing director told the cop that Houston’s injuries could be cared for at the home, so a hospital trip was not necessary.
Pavelek told police that Houston started following him as he walked his mother down the hall. He claimed that Houston “began hitting and kicking him,” so he “simply put his foot up in self defense to block her kicks.”
That explanation, however, did not seem to sway investigators. Pavelek was charged Wednesday with misdemeanor assault, as well as harassment and disorderly conduct. “Defendant caused a disturbance at the Jameson Care Nursing Home and kicked a 102 year old lady,” the complaint alleges. (2 pages)
