Police: Woman Arrested After Holding Boyfriend At Knifepoint, Letting Son Sleep On Cockroach-Covered Mattress
NEW KENSINGTON (KDKA) -- A woman is facing charges, accused of assaulting and threatening her boyfriend with a knife all while her young son slept nearby in the bedroom.
Charges were filed Saturday against Sierra Jones of New Kensington.
It all started when police were called to her apartment on along Kenneth Avenue for a report of a domestic dispute. Officers found blood and broken glass on the porch, as well as Jones' boyfriend, who was bleeding from the hand.
According to the criminal complaint, Jones' boyfriend told police that the pair had gotten into an argument. He said both had punched windows during the incident.
"A lot of fighting, like someone taking somebody and throwing them against the wall," neighbor Robin Lopata said.
While questioning him, police say he told them that Jones had "struck him multiple times and strangled him with so much force that he was unable to breathe."
The criminal complaint says responding officers found strangulation marks on the man's neck.
Police say Jones also allegedly held a knife to the man's throat and said, "that if he told anyone what happened, she would [expletive] kill him."
Jones took off a short time later.
Inside the apartment, investigators say they also found Jones' 2-year-old son asleep in a bedroom. Police say the room was covered in garbage with dog food on the floor, and the mattress the boy was laying on was full of dirt and cockroaches.
Police also say there was no food in the refrigerator, the kitchen was filthy and there were cat feces throughout the apartment.
"It's terrible for a little one to go through that," Lopata said. "It's crazy. The baby is the most important."
CYS and EMS were called. The child was given a check-up and then taken to the police station.
Investigators say Jones eventually returned to the apartment. The criminal complaint says she was "extremely intoxicated and belligerent." She was arrested and taken to the New Kensington Police Department.
One of Jones' friends was also taken into custody. Police say there was a warrant out for her arrest and she was in possession of a small amount of marijuana and a glass pipe.
Jones is in the Westmoreland County Jail and is charged with assault, strangulation and endangering the welfare of a child.