A judge dismissed a felony aggravated assault charge against a Butler man accused of breaking a neighbor’s jaw after hitting him in the face and attacking his service dog.

Gregory A. Stepp, 53, was arrested Dec. 5 in connection with a Nov. 26 altercation with neighbor Joseph Kyper and his dog. He was charged with felony aggravated assault and summary disorderly conduct related to the incident on Kaufman Drive on Butler’s South Side.

District Judge William Fullerton, on Monday, March 17, said a felony aggravated assault charge requires the prosecution to prove Stepp intentionally injured Kyper and showed extreme indifference for the value of human life. All three witnesses testified they did not see the impact proving intent, so the charge was reduced to misdemeanor simple assault.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Julieane Swain with the Criminal Prosecutions Section of the state Attorney General’s Office. The Butler County District Attorney did not prosecute the case.

Swain attempted to argue the act of striking Kyper proved Stepp’s intent but did not have a case law citation to support it.

Kyper testified he remembers little about the altercation despite being struck by Stepp on the right side of his face. He said he does not remember why he and Stepp were yelling at each other, why he left his yard or how he was struck.

Kyper suffered a broken jaw in the altercation, underwent surgery and stayed in a hospital for three days.

However, Kyper testified he knew “without a shadow of a doubt” Stepp struck him as no one else was close enough.

Kyper said his Texas heeler followed him outside before the altercation. He said the dog normally would have been leashed, and he didn’t remember why he did not leash it.

Neighbor Karen Ball testified the altercation occurred outside her home. The prosecution determined Stepp and Kyper were yelling from their respective yards and met in Ball’s yard, where the altercation occurred. She left her kitchen and went to her front porch around 7:30 p.m. after she heard yelling in her front yard, she said.

Ball testified that through her window, she saw Stepp and Kyper yelling with a group of neighbors nearby in her front yard. She said she saw Stepp shove Kyper with both hands, and Kyper did not get up. Ball said she called 911 and stayed on the porch until an ambulance arrived. She said Kyper did not begin to stir until the ambulance arrived.

While being questioned by defense attorney Joseph Kecskemethy, Ball said she did not see the men in her yard before she heard shouting and did not know what led to the altercation.

As the altercation began, John Reddig was pulling into the driveway of his daughter’s house nearby while bringing her home from work. He testified Stepp and Kyper came together near a light pole in Ball’s front yard. Reddig testified he did not see Stepp strike or shove Kyper, but he heard Stepp yell “I just kicked your dog. What are you going to do about it?”

Reddig said he then heard a loud snap or crack and saw Kyper on the ground. All three witnesses testified the dog was unleashed but friendly, and they do not remember seeing it injured after the altercation.

Stepp’s formal arraignment is scheduled for 1 p.m. May 6 in Butler County Common Pleas Court on charges of misdemeanor simple assault and summary disorderly conduct.