A Souderton man has been charged with aggravated assault and related offenses after he allegedly stabbed an off-duty officer from the Lansdale Police Department during an incident in Richland Township on Friday morning.
According to a release from the Richland Township Police Department, police responded to a report of an erratic person walking along Route 309 on the morning of July 5. Police located the male—identified as 45-year-old Stephen Deatelhauser, of Souderton—who then allegedly ran into a CVS, pulled the fire alarm and then fled on foot toward Route 309, the report states.
While fleeing, Deatelhauser allegedly displayed a knife and a kubaton, the report states. As members of the Richland Township Police Department were attempting to get Deatelhauser to drop the weapons, an off-duty officer from the Lansdale Police Department—identified as 36-year-old Daniel Gallagher—attempted to render aid, but was stabbed in the left shoulder as he took Deatelhauser to the ground, the report states.
Deatelhauser was then taken into custody, according to the report.
Gallagher, a nine-year veteran of the Lansdale Police Department assigned to the community policing unit, was transported from the scene via ambulance to Saint Luke’s-Quakertown for treatment of his injuries. He was released later that day, according to police.
Lansdale Borough Police Chief Michael Trail said that Gallagher’s actions were a credit to himself and police everywhere, and thanked the public for their support in the aftermath of the incident.
As a result of the incident, Deatelhauser has been charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault, one felony count of flight to avoid apprehension, and misdemeanor counts of simple assault, terroristic threats and false alarm to an agency of public safety.
He was arraigned on Friday by Magisterial District Judge Lisa Gaier, who denied bail and revoked bail from a previous arrest in April. He was then remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility. His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing at 1 p.m. on July 18 in front of Judge Gaier.
Deatelhauser had previously been arrested in Sellersville on April 16 on felony charges of arson, risking catastrophe and criminal trespassing, after he allegedly locked himself in the closet of a car dealership and began setting things on fire. He was out on 10-percent of $50,000 cash bail at the time of the alleged stabbing incident.
(Editor's note: All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. Should the defendant choose to issue a public statement, or is later found not guilty or has the charges dropped, we will update this article accordingly.)
See also:
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