Pokémon Go Fight Lands 1 in Jail, Another in Hospital

One man is in jail and another is hospitalized in intensive care after they got into an argument Wednesday night over the popular Pokémon Go augmented reality game, the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.

Ryan Jeffrey Steiner, 33, of St. Clair Shores, is charged with aggravated assault in the incident, which occurred about 10:40 p.m. Wednesday in Mount Clemens, which has numerous Pokémon Go stops, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

The sheriff’s office said Steiner, his girlfriend and another woman were walking on Market Street when they encountered the victim, a 53-year-old Harrison Township man. An argument that centered on Steiner’s use of his smartphone to play the game escalated to threats, and Steiner allegedly hit the victim in the face and knocked him down, according to the release.

Steiner and his two companions then went to a nearby bar, leaving the man lying on the sidewalk, the sheriff’s office said. Witnesses called 911 and when deputies arrived, they found the victim bleeding from a cut on the back of his head.

He was treated at the scene, then rushed to McLaren Macomb Hospital in Mount Clemens, where he was in the ICU Wednesday.

The witnesses helped the deputies identify Steiner, who was arrested in Warren on Wednesday night. He was arraigned Thursday in Clinton Township 41B District Court on a charge of aggravated assault, a one-year misdemeanor offense. Steiner’s bond was set at $5,000/10 percent, and he is due back in court on Aug. 24.

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Image: Macomb County Sheriff’s Office