A Towamencin man is behind bars after he allegedly entered a woman’s home while working as a landscaper, accused her of stealing a leaf blower, then choked her and chased her around her kitchen with a knife.
Steven Buchecker, 49, has been charged with felony counts of burglary, strangulation, and aggravated assault, along with misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats, reckless endangerment, theft by unlawful taking, and related offenses, in connection with the investigation.
According to the criminal complaint, Upper Gwynedd Police were dispatched to the 600 block of North Wales Road at 8:31 p.m. on Sept. 7 for a report of a woman who had been choked by her landscaper. Upon arrival, the victim told police that at 7:44 p.m., Buchecker gained access to her home via keycode, began yelling and accused her of stealing a backpack leaf blower that belonged to his employer. When the victim stated it was a mix-up and Buchecker had confused the victim’s similar leaf blower to the one owned by his employer, Buchecker allegedly grabbed the victim by her throat, pushed her into the kitchen and demanded she return the property.
From that point, Buchecker allegedly grabbed a 12-inch knife from the kitchen and began waving it aggressively as he pursued the victim around the kitchen. Police said the victim repeatedly told Buchecker to get out of her home and pleaded that she didn’t want to get hurt.
Eventually, Buchecker grabbed the victim’s phone and walked out the front door, the report states. He then tried to regain access to the home, but the victim had manually locked the door, resulting in him tossing the phone and leaving the scene, police said.
The entire incident was captured on multiple security cameras inside of the victim’s home, and the surveillance footage corroborated the victim’s account of the incident, police said.
When asked how Buchecker had known the keycode for the door, the victim stated she had previously hired him for various handyman jobs in her home over a period of six years. He was recently hired by a local landscaping company, who sent him to her home to provide the work, the victim told police.
Buchecker was charged and arraigned the following day, at which point District Judge Suzan Leonard set bail at $99,000 cash. He was transported to county jail after failing to post bail, and his next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on Sept. 22 at 10:30 a.m. in front of Judge Leonard.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause. This story was updated to reflect the child's current custody status.
See also:
Parents Charged with Felony Child Endangerment After Taking Kids to Pick Up Drugs in Philadelphia
Central Bucks School District Employee Charged with Possession of Child Pornography
Man Accused of Taking Photos of Woman in Dressing Room at Goodwill Outlet in Montgomeryville
Cleaning Contractor Accused of Stealing More Than $15,000 in Cash, Checks from Merck Employees
