OLIVER TWP., Pa. (EYT) – A Punxsutawney man is facing assault and related charges after a verbal altercation at an Oliver Township dwelling allegedly turned into a physical assault.
According to online court documents, Punxsutawney-based State Police filed criminal charges against 33-year-old Ronald Dean Myers, Jr., of Punxsutawney.
According to a criminal complaint, Officer Rupp, of PSP Punxsutawney, was dispatched to a Reynoldsville technical school to investigate an alleged incident. Around 10:15 a.m. on October 5, Officer Rupp interviewed the victim in the principal’s office.
The victim related the following information to Officer Rupp:
The victim stated that around 3:45 p.m. on October 4, he/she went home and Ronald Dean Myers, Jr. confronted him/her.
The victim stated that he/she repeatedly denied doing anything aside from hanging out at school. Myers got angry and went up to his bedroom. Approximately 10 to 15 minutes later, the victim went to Myers’ bedroom to see if he was still mad at him/her. They argued, and Myers became even more enraged. He ripped a coat rack off the bedroom door and threw it and then grabbed the victim and threw him/her to the ground, causing a small bruise on his/her left elbow. Myers proceeded to get on top of the victim and started “strangling” him/her with one hand and then with both hands. After approximately five minutes of Myers doing this, the victim was able to bite Myers on the arm to get him to stop. Shortly thereafter, Myers was attempting to leave the house, and the victim didn’t want him to leave the family, so he/she pleaded with him to stay for the sake of the family. Myers became very angry again and shoved the victim to the kitchen floor causing the victim to hit the back of his/her head, which resulted in a small lump. The victim got off the floor and blocked the door so Myers couldn’t leave. That’s when Myers held the victim up against the door and grabbed a kitchen knife out of the holder on the kitchen counter. He proceeded to hold the knife up near the victim’s neck and throat area for several seconds.
Myers then retreated to the bathroom and called the victim’s mother, saying he couldn’t deal with him/her. The victim got on the phone with his/her mother and was instructed to go to his/her room. After approximately 15 minutes or so, Myers came into his/her room and apologized to him/her. He advised he was sorry, and he just couldn’t control his anger issues.
Around 2:35 p.m. on October 5, Myers allegedly gave PSP Punxsutawney the following statement:
Myers said he discussed the school progress report with (the victim). (The victim’s) grades were pretty bad, so he asked (him/her) if (he/she) was messing around at school again like (he/she) did last year. (The victim) “wigged out” and started yelling and screaming at him. They argued for a bit then he went to his bedroom to calm down. A little bit later (he/she) came up to the bedroom, and they argued again. He wanted to go outside to cool off, but (he/she) was blocking the bedroom door. He put his forearm toward (his/her) face to move (him/her) and (he/she) bit him, so he used his forearm to push (him/her) onto the bed. He left the room and was heading outside, but (he/she) was faster than him and got to the kitchen door before he did. (He/She) was blocking the door, so he grabbed a knife out of the block on the kitchen counter and held it toward (him/her) as a scare tactic. Once he realized the tactic wasn’t going to work, he threw the knife down on the counter. He put his forearm under (his/her) chin and placed his foot behind (his/her) feet and attempted to take (him/her) down onto the kitchen floor to get (him/her) out of his way. He had his other hand behind (him/her) to soften (his/her) fall, but the back of (his/her) head hit the floor kind of hard. (He/She) sat on the floor crying, and he went out on the porch to get away from the situation. A short time later, he came back in and called (the victim’s) mother because he couldn’t deal with (his/her) behavior anymore. (The victim) got on the phone and finally calmed down and went to (his/her) room. After about 20 minutes, he went up to (his/her) bedroom and apologized to (him/her) for hitting the ground so hard. He told (him/her) he was sorry and never meant to hurt (him/her). (He/She) was calm, and things went back to normal for the rest of the evening.
Based on the investigation, a criminal complaint was filed against Myers in District Judge Douglas Robert Chambers’s office.
He was arraigned at 4:05 p.m. on October 5, on the following charges:
- Simple Assault, Misdemeanor 2 (two counts)
- Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Misdemeanor 2
- Harassment – Subject Other to Physical Contact, Summary
He was released on $35,000.00 unsecured bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on November 1, in front of Judge Chambers.
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