A Branch Township man is facing a felony aggravated assault charge following an incident that allegedly occurred last month at his home.
State Police-Schuylkill Haven say they were dispatched to the home of Jonathan Pfeil, 40, shortly after midnight on Jan. 24, for a report of an assault. Upon their arrival, according to a criminal complaint filed in District Court, Pfeil met with police in the driveway of his home on Bunting St.
Pfeil reportedly told police that earlier that night, he was at a Minersville bar to watch his ex-girlfriend sing with a band. A short time later, he went to another bar in the borough. While at that bar, he said his ex-girlfriend arrived with one of her bandmates. He then told police that he saw his ex speaking to another ex-girlfriend of his and that upset him, so he texted her and said she could not stay at his home. Pfeil said he then retired to his home.
Back at his home, Pfeil said he texted his ex once again and told her to come collect her belongings. He said the text informed her that he’d put her belongings outside his residence. At about 11:45 p.m. on Jan. 23, his ex allegedly showed up and started banging on the door to his home. He told police he didn’t know who was banging at the door and when he looked outside, he saw his ex and she was yelling to let her inside.
Pfeil then reportedly told his ex that she had to leave and that he wasn’t letting her inside. He said she tried to get in anyway to get other items of hers. He said at this point that his ex pushed him and he pushed her back. Pfeil then told police that she swung a light saber at him but he caught it in his hand. After this, he reportedly told police that he kicked his ex out of the doorway and into the driveway of his home. He told police that his ex then hit the glass window of his porch door with that light saber and it broke the glass window on it.
After this allegedly happened, Pfeil told police that he went inside his residence to retrieve an unloaded pepper ball shotgun because he saw a pickup truck parked on the shoulder of the road in front of his home. He said two men and a woman were standing next to the truck.
On Jan. 25, State Police were summoned to Minersville Police Dept. headquarters to make contact with Pfeil’s ex-girlfriend. She was there to file a police report regarding the incident that had unfolded the night prior.
During their interview, the ex related that she was singing at one Minersville bar and afterward, went with a bandmate to another bar. She told police that she did speak with another of Pfeil’s ex-girlfriends to say that she liked her eyeglasses. That’s when she received a text from Pfeil saying that she couldn’t stay with him so she asked a bandmate if she could stay with him that night.
The ex then told police that she got a phone call from Pfeil indicating that he was going to throw her belongings at his house into the street if she didn’t retrieve them. So, she said, she went to go get those items. Upon her arrival on the night in question, she said Pfeil was kicking a bag of her belongings on the road. She did tell police that she also tried to get more items of hers that were inside Pfeil’s residence but he blocked her access.
Pfeil then reportedly grabbed that pepper ball shotgun and told her to get off his property, she told police. She asked that she could get her belongings from inside his home. That’s when Pfeil allegedly kicked her in the chest and struck her in the face with the blunt end of that shotgun, causing her glasses to fall off her face, breaking one of the lenses. The ex did reportedly tell police that she broke a window trying to gain access to her belongings before leaving Pfeil’s home.
Police say they didn’t observe any visible injuries on the ex-girlfriend but did note that a lens of her glasses was missing.
On Jan. 29, police say they phoned the ex-girlfriend and she told them that she had a friend go to Pfeil’s to get the remainder of her belongings. She reportedly told police that in the days since the incident a small bruise formed under her right eye. She also she didn’t believe it was her that broke the door window with the light saber because Pfeil had reportedly messaged her saing tht he cut his hands on the glass during the incident. The ex-girlfriend allegedly did tell police that she recalled hitting the window with the light saber but didn’t think she broke it.
Police contacted Pfeil by phone a short time after their call with his ex. He reportedly told police that he got an estimate for the broken window and that it would cost between $1,200-1,500 to replace. Police say they asked Pfeil if he hit his ex with the pepper ball shotgun. He denied doing that. Pfeil also said it’s possible that when his ex treied to push her way through his front door, he could have shoved her in the face and that could have broken her glasses, according to the police affidavit. He added that he didn’t intentinally hit her in the face.
After hearing those sides of the story, police have filed several charges against Pfeil, including felony aggravated assault, and misdemeanors for simple assault and disorderly conduct. He was arraigned before District Magistrate Judge David Rossi on Feb. 21. Rossi released Pfeil on $50,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is currently scheduled for April 10.
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Fedupconseravtive
February 27, 2025 at 1:52 pm
May the force be with them both. They need it.