Game Commission deputy treated at hospital after alleged beating by York County men

A Pennsylvania Game Commission deputy was treated at a hospital Saturday after two York County men allegedly disarmed and assaulted him, according to charging documents.

Deputy David Fidler, 58, was seen at the Lehigh Valley Hospital Schuylkill East Norwegian Street location's emergency room and was released later the same day, according to a hospital spokesman.

Wade Michael Winemiller, 57, of Lower Windsor Township, remains in Schuylkill County Prison, while Thomas Earl Kelly Jr., 57, of Hopewell Township, has been released on bail. 

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"I'm not talking to you," Kelly said to a reporter when asked for comment Wednesday morning.

Winemiller and Kelly face numerous charges, including aggravated assault, disarming a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest. The two have separate preliminary hearings before District Judge David A. Plachko on Dec. 11, according to online court dockets.

Deputy responds

Fidler was dispatched to the area of Peach Mountain Road in Norwegian Township for a report of someone on an ATV shooting a deer. The two men were illegally riding ATVs within a Hunter Access Program property, according to a Pennsylvania Game Commission news release.

The deputy encountered Winemiller and Kelly on a hill, identified himself, and told them to sit on the ground, documents state.

The deputy took the keys to one of the ATVs, and the two men began to attack him, causing him to backpedal down the hill, while ignoring his commands to stop, documents state.

When Fidler pulled his handgun, one of the men grabbed it, pushing it down. As Fidler fell to his knees, both Winemiller and Kelly were grabbing at the gun, documents state.

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The two struggled with Fidler on the ground, still attempting to wrestle the gun from him. Fidler fired the gun, discharging a bullet into the ground. As the struggle continued, both men punched Fidler in the head repeatedly, documents state.

Eventually, one of the men pulled the gun out of Fidler's hands, racked the slide and ejected a round from its chamber. The other man yelled at Fidler to give him back the keys to the ATV, which Fidler did. The two then fled the area, documents state.

Fidler, an 18-year deputy state game warden, was selected as Deputy of the Year in 2018, according to the game commission.

State police investigate

As Pennsylvania State Police began investigating, they found part of an orange plastic ATV hand guard at the scene. They also received information that led them to name Winemiller and Kelly as suspects, documents state.

On Tuesday, two troopers went to Winemiller's home. Winemiller told them he had two orange and black ATVs in his garage and agreed to show them to the troopers, documents state.

"One of the ATVs had a broken left-hand guard matching the piece of debris recovered from the scene of this incident," documents state.

When the troopers asked Winemiller where he had been the previous morning, he said, "I knew you guys were coming," documents state.

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"Winemiller advised he and his friend Thomas Kelly were riding yesterday and things just got out of hand," documents state. "Winemiller related that the ATV with the broken left-hand guard was Thomas Kelly's ATV. Winemiller stated, 'I should have changed out that hand guard.'"

Later, during an interview at state police's York barracks, Winemiller admitted to getting into an altercation with a Pennsylvania Game Commission deputy in Schulykill County.

Charging documents did not provide details on Kelly's arrest.

Contact Ted Czech at 717-771-2033.