Man Facing New Charges Following Domestic Assault in Upper Gwynedd Township

North Penn Now Staff•

Matthew Moss, 34, of Warminster, as seen in his JNET booking image from October 2019.

A Warminster Township man who was out on bail due to an arrest in October 2019 is facing new charges, following a pair of domestic incidents in Upper Gwynedd Township in December 2019.

34-year-old Matthew Moss was initially arrested on Oct. 24, 2019, following a traffic stop in Montgomery Township. At the time of his arrest, police stated that Moss was found to be in possession of packaged marijuana and cocaine, as well counterfeit currency and a ledger detailing the locations and sales of drugs. (Read about the arrest here)

Court records indicate that Moss was initially remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility after failing to post $20,000 bail, but during his preliminary hearing on Nov. 7, bail was reduced to 10-percent of $20,000, which was then posted by the mother of Moss’s children.

On Dec. 6, 2019, at 12:47 p.m., police were dispatched to the home of the mother of Moss’s children for a report of a domestic assault. A juvenile caller advised county dispatch that his father, Moss, was fighting with his grandfather, who owned the home, police said. By the time police had arrived to the home, Moss had fled the scene, according to the complaint.

The report states that Moss—who does not reside at the home and does not have custody of his two children—arrived at the home unannounced, and when the oldest child ran inside to alert his mother, Moss followed him into the home. Police said that Moss assaulted the mother while their baby slept next to her, and then attempted to leave the home with the baby.

The grandfather then arrived home and saw Moss running out of the residence with the baby crying hysterically, and a physical altercation ensued, police said. During the altercation, Moss attempted to throw a punch at the grandfather, but reportedly missed and instead struck the mother in the face, causing swelling and a bloody lip, the report states. The grandfather and mother were able to secure the baby, at which point Moss ran to his car and shouted that he was going to return "squad deep,” according to the report.

Moss added that he "had something for them in his car,” police said. He then left the scene, according to the complaint.

On Dec. 14, 2019, at 2:45 p.m., police were again dispatched to the home for a report of a domestic dispute. The mother told police that despite securing a protection-from-abuse order (PFA), Moss returned to the home and was knocking on the door, the report states.

Moss then fled the scene, with the grandfather, and later police, following, according to the report. While being pursued by police on Welsh Road, Moss allegedly failed to stop and drove off at a high rate of speed, police said.

As a result of the two incidents, Moss has been charged with two felony counts of strangulation, misdemeanor counts of simple assault, making terroristic threats and attempting to elude police, and summary counts of harassment, criminal trespass and reckless driving.

On Jan. 28, Moss was apprehended in Columbia County and arraigned on the new charges via video. Magisterial District Judge Suzan Leonard set bail at $50,000 cash for the Dec. 6 charges, and $10,000 cash for the Dec. 14 charges. He currently is being transported to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of bail.

In addition to the charges in Montgomery Township and Upper Gwynedd Township, court records indicate that Moss is also facing felony drug charges in Abington Township that were filed on Dec. 23, 2019, and DUI charges in Upper Moreland Township from an incident on May 28, 2019.

(Editor’s note: All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause, and reflects the point of view of the police. 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.)