Montgomery County court records show that all but one charge has been dismissed against a landscaper from Towamencin who was initially accused of entering a client’s home, choking a woman, and threatening her with a knife.
Steven Buchecker, 50, was initially 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 September 2022 incident along the 600 block of North Wales Road in Upper Gwynedd Township. Investigators alleged that Buchecker entered the woman’s home, began arguing with the woman over a leaf blower, then grabbed her by the throat and later chased her around the kitchen with a 12-inch knife.
The aggravated assault and strangulation charges were later withdrawn during Buchecker’s preliminary hearing in November 2022, and the remaining charges were dismissed last month — sans one summary count of harassment, for which Buchecker pleaded guilty, according to court records.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office told North Penn Now that the charges were dismissed after the woman ceased cooperating with prosecutors. The spokesperson said the woman gradually stopped cooperating over the course of court proceedings, until a point in which she ceased all communications with investigators and prosecutors.
Without the cooperation of the woman, the spokesperson said prosecutors could no longer make their case, aside from the summary harassment charge. Court records show Buchecker was sentenced to “no further penalty” on the harassment charge, though he was ordered to pay the costs of prosecution.
A voicemail left with the public defender’s office was not returned at the time of publishing.
Following his arraignment on Sept. 8, 2022, Buchecker was placed in county jail in lieu of $99,000 cash bail. He was released from custody a week before his preliminary hearing after bail was reduced to $1,500 unsecured, meaning he ultimately spent 61 days in jail during the proceedings, according to court records.
See also:
Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Confrontation with Police Outside of Telford Night Market
Man Pleads Guilty to Montgomery Township Hit and Run that Left Elderly Man with Serious Injuries
Lansdale Man Pleads Guilty to Ethnic Intimidation in Road Rage Case
Harleysville Man Sentenced to Prison After Pleading Guilty to Fatal Hit and Run in Skippack
Sellersville Man Sentenced to Prison for Murder of Elizabeth Capaldi
