Pittsburgh restaurant owner Richard DeShantz arrested on domestic violence charges

Richard DeShantz, the owner of several popular Pittsburgh restaurants, has been arrested and is facing domestic violence charges. 

According to a criminal complaint filed last weekend by police, DeShantz has been charged with misdemeanor counts of simple assault and strangulation. 

Police said that DeShantz, whose restaurant group owns Meat & Potatoes, Poulet Bleu and Coop de Ville, among other popular Pittsburgh dining spots, is accused of punching a woman in the face and slamming her head against the steering wheel of a vehicle they were in early Saturday morning while he was intoxicated.

The woman told investigators that she was picking DeShantz and his brother up from a bar in the city's Strip District when an argument broke out. DeShantz is also accused of choking the woman and throwing her to the ground outside of his home in the city's Allentown neighborhood.

When officers arrived at DeShantz's home and detained him, his brother told them that he was able to break up the fight and took DeShantz inside. 

Online court records show that bail was set at $10,000, which was posted by his business partner the day he was arrested.

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for next week at municipal court in Pittsburgh.