An Upper Gwynedd Township man is facing felony and misdemeanor assault charges in connection with a violent domestic incident that occurred earlier this month.
According to the criminal complaint, police were dispatched to a residence within the township on Jan. 10 at 9:20 a.m. for a report of a domestic assault. The victim told police that her son—identified as 37-year-old Steven Johnson—began yelling at her without provocation, then started pulling her hair, the report states.
Police said that Johnson, who moved back to the residence several months prior to the incident, prevented the victim from leaving the home and began to strangle her, then punched her in the mouth, threw her to the ground and then spit on her. The assault continued with Johnson attempting to strangle the victim two more times, and he allegedly bit the left side of her forehead, according to the complaint.
Following the assault, Johnson allegedly threatened to kill the victim if she spoke to police, the report states. The victim sustained swelling to the left side of her forehead, a bruise to her neck, a swollen lip, a bloodshot right eye and pain to her back and legs as a result of the assault, police said.
The victim told police that she was in fear for her life throughout the incident, as well as afterwards, according to the report.
As a result of the incident, Johnson was charged with one felony count of strangulation, along with misdemeanor counts of unlawful restraint with serious bodily injury, simple assault, terroristic threats and recklessly endangering another person, and a summary count of harassment.
Johnson was taken into custody Jan. 28 and arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Suzan Leonard, who set bail at $10,000 cash. Johnson was then remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility after failing to post bail, and his next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on Feb. 10 at 12:30 p.m. in front of Judge Leonard.
(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.)
See also:
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