Area man to stand trial after crash, hammer attack following custody exchange

By JUSTIN VELLUCCI
TribLive

A Clairton man is headed to trial on attempted homicide and related charges for striking his former paramour’s car with his vehicle following a child-custody exchange, then repeatedly hitting the woman in the head with a claw hammer.

Allegheny County Police charged Vance Gibson Jr., 28, with two counts each of aggravated assault, simple assault and harassment; three counts of reckless endangerment; and one count of child endangerment. An attempted homicide charge was later added.

All 11 charges were held for court at a preliminary hearing Tuesday, court records show. Gibson is set to appear in Allegheny County Common Pleas court in May.

He remains in the Allegheny County Jail without bail.

Police said Gibson met his former partner, Lauryn Flint, at a Family Dollar store around 8 a.m. March 9 to pick up their 5-yearold child, according to a criminal complaint. The exchange was uneventful.

Flint and her mother, Jaymie Kellem, then drove to Flint’s former home to pick up her mail, the complaint said. Gibson currently lives at the Halcomb Avenue residence.

Police said Flint went to leave the area when she noticed Gibson’s vehicle was at the home.

When Flint tried to turn her car onto St. Clair Avenue, Gibson rear-ended the vehicle, which “spun out” into the oncoming traffic lane, the complaint said.

Gibson then drove through the intersection and crashed into a nearby building.

Flint and her mother went to pull the child from Gibson’s vehicle, the complaint said. Instead, Gibson got out of the vehicle and took the child out of the car.

After Flint’s mother took the child away, Gibson tackled and began punching Flint, the complaint said.

Police said Flint’s mother tried to stop the attack. But Gibson also threw her to the ground.

Gibson stopped the assault and walked back to his car, where he retrieved a claw hammer, the complaint said. He chased Flint with the hammer in his hands, then tackled her and struck her twice in the head and neck area with the hammer.

A witness, whom police later interviewed, intervened and stopped the assault. Gibson walked away.

First responders took multiple victims to area hospitals in stable condition: Flint, Flint’s mother and the child who was a passenger in Gibson’s car, police said.

The Allegheny County Public Defenders’ Office, which represents Gibson, did not return phone calls Tuesday seeking comment.

Court records show Gibson pleaded guilty last year to multiple gun and drug charges. A judge sentenced him to 1 to 5 years in prison.

Gibson also negotiated a guilty plea on a drug charge in 2021, court records show. He was sentenced to three years’ probation.

The state Department of Corrections did not respond Tuesday to phone calls or an email seeking comment.