Milton man indicted in knife fight; dad likely to follow

Roman Czepyha (Milton Police photo)

DOVER - A Milton man has been indicted for his role in a knife fight and melee in downtown Milton in February.

Roman Czepyha, 28, of 559 White Mountain Hwy., faces two felony charges – second degree assault and criminal solicitation – both punishable by 3 and a half to seven years in state prison.

On Feb. 20 police were called for a dispute at 559 White Mountain Hwy. where they found two victims injured trying to break up a knife fight.

As a result of that incident Czepyha was charged with second-degree assault.

One of the two people trying to stop the fight, a male, was cut on the forearm, while a female received bumps and bruises. Both were transported to and later released from Frisbie Memorial Hospital.

Craig Czepyha

Police say the Feb. 20 incident occurred when Czepyha got into an altercation with housemate Matthew Shattuck, 19, over a chess game. Shattuck was charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol and disorderly conduct.

According to Milton Police, as the pair were arguing Czepyha grabbed a large kitchen knife, whereupon Shattuck drew a small folding knife from his pocket.

Milton Police Chief Richard Krauss said at the time that officers had been called to the address several times in the recent past for issues of domestic incidents, fights and arrest warrants.

Czepyha was later charged with criminal solicitation for allegedly phoning his father, Craig Czepyha, 53, of Sanbornville, from jail and telling him to blackmail witnesses into giving Milton Police false information.

Craig Czepyha is accused of telling victims in the case to make false written statements to Milton Police. He was later charged with witness tampering, and his felony charge was bound over to Strafford County Superior Court for indictment earlier this month.

Roman Czepyha, meanwhile, also faces two misdemeanor assault charges in connection with injuries to the two people who tried to break up the February scuffle.

The May Strafford County grand jury indictments were released today.

An indictment is not an indication of guilt, only that a grand jury has found sufficient evidence to move forward with a trial.