Mar 28, 2019 2 min read

UNIONTOWN – A corrections officer at the state prison in Greene County is behind bars for allegedly shooting at his girlfriend in her car with a shotgun as she left his Uniontown home early Thursday.

Robert Thomas King III, 39, of Oakland Avenue, was suspended without pay from his job at SCI-Greene state prison near Waynesburg pending the results of his case, according to Tracy Shawley, superintendent’s assistant at the prison.

King worked at the prison since May 15, 2006, and held the title of Corrections Officer 1 at the time of his arrest, she said.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed in his case, King’s girlfriend, Samantha Swaney, called Uniontown City Police at about 3 a.m. saying King fired a shotgun at her from his porch one hour earlier. She reported no injuries, and her car was not hit.

She told police she was packing her belongings from his house and leaving when he allegedly shot at her. He reportedly “tracked” her vehicle and fired a second shot as she was backing out, police said. Both shots missed, according to court documents.

Swaney told officers she “did not know what to do” and waited an hour before going to Uniontown Hospital and calling police. She told police she was afraid. King was “highly intoxicated” at the time of the incident, she told officers.

King is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

He was arraigned Thursday morning before Fayette County Magisterial District Judge Daniel Shimshock, who set bail at $125,000. King was unable to post bail and is being held in Fayette County Prison.

Charges were filed before Magisterial District Judge Michael Metros. King’s preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for 2 p.m. April 9. Court documents do not indicate whether he has hired an attorney.