Police: Man Assaults Girlfriend & Her Son, Threatens Cops With Bat
LIGONIER (KDKA) – A Westmoreland County man was arrested for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend and her young son Tuesday night.
According to police, officers were called to a home in the 1500 block of Darlington Road in Ligonier around 6 p.m.
The woman told police she went to her boyfriend's home because she had started to move out. While taking boxes out of the home, 48-year-old Eric Painter allegedly threw her to the ground.
"When you're talking about love and so forth, sometimes things get pretty heated and out of hand," said Ligonier Township Police Chief Mike Matrunics.
The woman claims Painter sat on her and began to hit her and pull her hair.
Eventually, she was able to get in her car, where her son was waiting. Painter allegedly opened the car door, grabbed the boy - who is under the age of 13 - by the neck and threw him to the ground. Police say he also spit in the boy's face.
"The son happened to be there with the mother and apparently got dragged into the situation," said Chief Matrunics.
The woman was able to get Painter off of her son, but was allegedly bitten on the arm in the process.
The woman, her son and a friend ran to the nearby Darlington Inn to call for help.
According to police, when officers arrived, they knocked on the door of the home in an effort to speak with Painter. He allegedly swore at the officers in an expletive-filled tirade and threatened them through the door.
Officers made a forced entry into the home and observed Painter standing in the entry way with a baseball bat.
Painter was tackled to the ground and taken into custody. He is now facing numerous felony counts including aggravated assault.
He is being held in the Westmoreland County Jail on $75,000 straight case bond. The condition of the two victims is not known.
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