BRADY TWP — Two suspected robbers face hearings next week on charges they knocked out a man and took his pistol during a fight earlier this summer here, state police said.

Raymond L. Ayers, 29, no known address, and Jesse J. Hynes, 30, no known address, met Joseph Switzer about 2 a.m. July 14 near the Muddy Creek Presbyterian Church on Muddy Creek Drive

Police said the three men fought during which time Switzer was rendered unconscious. Ayers and Hynes stole Switzer's Hi-Point .45-caliber handgun, according to court documents.

Switzer also suffered a large cut above his left eye in the fight.

District Judge Tim Shaffer on Aug. 4 issued an arrest warrant for the suspects, who remained at large until their arrests Aug. 26.

The defendants, who are charged with robbery, theft, simple assault and disorderly conduct, are in the Butler County Prison on $30,000 bail each.

Preliminary hearings for Ayers and Hynes are set for Sept 8 at Shaffer's office in Slippery Rock.

Meanwhile, Hynes at the time of his arrest was wanted on a bench warrant for a probation violation in connection with a 2009 simple assault conviction, county court records showed.

He was sentenced to 6 to 12 months in the county prison followed by 1 year of probation for the assault in Butler.

Ayers in February was sentenced to serve a 3 to 6 months in the county prison for a simple assault conviction stemming from a 2009 fight in Jackson Township, court records showed.