UPDATE: LEWISBURG (WVVA) - The victim in a weekend altercation in Greenbrier County has died from his injuries.
Ira Lindberg Harris,23, died Monday at Charleston Area Medical Center, Lewisburg Police Chief Tim Stover announced at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
The suspect, Antonio Dewayne Smith remains jailed on $75,000 bond on a charge of malicious wounding.
Greenbrier County Prosecuting Attorney Patrick Via said additional charges are pending, based on results of the ongoing police investigation and the results of the state medical examiner's report on cause of death.
Stover said that Lewisburg has not had a homicide case since the 1970s.
Harris suffered severe injuries after allegedly being pushed down a flight of stairs during an early Sunday altercation with Smith at a Lewisburg apartment.
ORIGINAL REPORT: LEWISBURG (WVVA) - After an altercation turns violent in Greenbrier County, one man is behind bars, and one suffers deadly head injuries.
Antonio Dewayne Smith was arrested and charged with malicious wounding after the Lewisburg Police Department responded to a 9-1-1 call to the apartment above the Irish Pub on Main Street in downtown Lewisburg around 3 a.m. Sunday morning.
When police arrived to the scene, they found 23-year-old Ira Lindberg Harris of Chesapeake, VA. unconscious, and unable to respond on the floor. According to the police report Harris was bleeding very badly when found.
According to Lewisburg Police Chief Tim Stover, Smith allegedly pushed Harris down the stairs after a heated altercation in the upstairs apartment just above the business.
Eyewitness statements claimed that the fight was over racial comments.
The criminal complaint says witnesses alleged Smith pushed Harris down the stairs.
"When it started to get physical witnesses say Mr. Harris tried walking away and when he was walking down the stairs, Mr. Smith pushed him from behind, causing him to fall down the stairs."
The Fairlea Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene and transported Harris to the Greenbrier Valley Medical Center where Harris was pronounced "brain dead."
He was taken to Charleston Area Medical Center where he remains on life support.
Harris works at the Greenbrier Resort as an entertainer and performer. He moved to the area when hired at the resort. Harris is a graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory where he was featured in the Shenandoah Singers. To view performances by Harris click here.
Antonio Smith remains in Southern Regional Jail on a 75-thousand-dollar bond. Chief Stover says the charges may change depending on the state of the victim.
Antonio Dewayne Smith
Ira Lindberg Harris
