Prosecutors drop attempted homicide in Union County assault case plea

Caleb Daniels, 22, of Montoursville, pleaded guilty Friday before Union County Judge Michael Piecuch to three misdemeanor charges after prosecutors withdrew attempted homicide and other felony counts in a Kelly Township assault case.

Daniels admitted to two counts of selling or furnishing alcohol to minors and one count of simple assault. The plea closed off the most serious exposure in a case that had started with allegations that he intentionally struck a woman with a vehicle outside a McDonald’s in Kelly Township, just outside Lewisburg.

State police were called to the restaurant at 7379 West Branch Highway at about 7:45 a.m. to 7:46 a.m. after a report that a female had been struck by a vehicle. Troopers found two women identified as victims at the scene. Daniels was 21 when the attempted-homicide charges were first reported in July 2025.

The charge reduction followed a review of surveillance video from the incident. After that review, prosecutors dropped the attempted homicide count and other felony allegations, including recklessly endangering another person and corruption of minors, along with summary offenses. The plea agreement left Daniels convicted on misdemeanor charges tied to both the alleged assault and the alcohol allegations.

Daniels must have no contact with the woman involved, a restriction that remains in place as the case moves to sentencing on the misdemeanor convictions. While the original filing carried the possibility of a far more serious violent-crime prosecution, the final result reflects a narrower case built around the evidence prosecutors were willing to prove after examining the video.

The case drew attention in Kelly Township because it involved a fast-moving confrontation in a busy parking lot and the alleged use of a vehicle as the weapon. Kelly Township, a Union County community with a population of 3,993 at the 2020 census, is also home to the United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg, giving the township a prominent institutional presence beyond the McDonald’s where the incident unfolded.

For Union County, the plea marks a clear shift from the original attempted-homicide case to a misdemeanor resolution, but it still leaves Daniels facing a criminal conviction and the consequences that come with it.