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A former Loudoun County School Board member has been charged in relation with an early-morning bar fight in Leesburg.
Eric DeKenipp, 39, who formerly represented the Catoctin District on the School Board, is charged with one count of simple assault after the altercation Friday around 2 a.m. in the 500 block of East Market Street. DeKenipp assaulted an adult female who is known to him, according to a Leesburg Police Department news release.
Joseph Smith, 32, of no fixed address, has been charged with one count of malicious wounding. Smith is alleged to have cut Dekenipp with a knife during the altercation.
According to the Leesburg Police Department, officers were dispatched to a fight in the parking lot of a bar on East Market Street.
“An investigation revealed that four adults had left the bar and an argument had ensued,” the Leesburg police release states. “Eric DeKenipp and another adult male got into a physical altercation in the parking lot. Joseph Smith subsequently joined in the altercation. Once the altercation between the males ceased, DeKenipp then physically assaulted an adult female who is known to him.”
DeKenipp was taken into custody for simple assault and transported to the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center, according to police. While in custody, it was determined DeKenipp had suffered a laceration during the altercation, and he was transported to a local hospital for treatment and was subsequently booked into the Adult Detention Center.
It’s believed Smith cut DeKenipp during the parking lot tussle.
DeKenipp, of Lovettsville, served on the Loudoun County School Board from 2016-2018 before resigning to spend more time with his family. He also served in the Marines.
Both Smith and DeKenipp were being held at the Adult Detention Center, DeKenipp on a $1,000 secured bond and Smith without bond.
