Laro airlifted after brawl at Skyline Apartments

A fight over rent sent one Skyline man to Erlanger after he was struck in the head by a bottle during the altercation.

The victim, Pablo Laro, was airlifted from the back parking lot of Wal-Mart by Air Evac helicopter for treatment of his head wound at Erlanger. His alleged attacker, Fransisco Velasquez, has been charged with criminal impersonation but at present, has not been hit with the more serious aggravated assault charge for the incident which happened at Skyline Apartments around 2 p.m. Saturday.

The reason for the reluctance to charge Velasquez comes after police found Velasquez was the subject of a beating at the hands of Laro when they arrived. Police say Laro, who was bleeding profusely from his head, refused to stop attacking Velasquez, who was on his knees covering himself at the time.

Officers sprayed Laro with pepper spray but he continued to pound Velasquez, prompting a second blast at which time Laro stopped his attack. Laro was then treated at the scene and taken to meet the helicopter due to the severity of his head injury.

A subsequent investigation revealed the fight happened due to a disagreement over rent money between the men, who were among several roommates in the apartment. Officers believe others may have been involved in the fight but that they ran off before lawmen arrived.

Officers found evidence Laro had been hit in the head with a bottle earlier in the fight and that he may have been thrown through a glass window, contributing to his injuries.