Pregnant woman allegedly assaulted
A Somerset Township man is in Washington County jail on $500,000 bond after he allegedly struck his 33-year-old girlfriend, who is reportedly seven months pregnant, in the stomach with a pick axe during a confrontation Sunday night at her Ellsworth home.
Chad Anthony DeJohn, 35, of 20 Donley Road, Eighty Four, is accused of assaulting the woman during an argument at her home on North Main Street.
Police were called the woman’s home just before 10 p.m. She told police that an argument with DeJohn escalated to the point that she was hit in the stomach with a portion of a pick axe by him.
The woman was crying and indicated she was scared of DeJohn, who fled before troopers arrived.
Police said she was reluctant to discuss the matter. A trooper saw that a clump of her hair was on the floor in the bedroom and she had a small cut near her left eye. Police also saw a scratch on her right forearm and red mark on her foot. Police did not indicate if she received medical treatment.
Several dining room chairs had been knocked over, police said, and a wooden footboard on a bed in a downstairs bedroom was damaged. Police took the axe as evidence.
Court records show this is the second time in the last six months that he was accused of assaulting his girlfriend. He was arrested by North Strabane Township police after a June 4 incident on Route 519. Those charges were dismissed at his June 20 preliminary hearing.
DeJohn was arraigned Monday before District Judge Ethan Ward on charges of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children and two counts each of simple assault, reckless endangerment and harassment. A preliminary hearing is set for Dec. 22 before District Judge Curtis Thompson.