A Schuylkill County man accused of assaulting a woman over the summer, including punching her in the abdomen because he thought she was pregnant, is facing new domestic assault charges from an alleged incident with a different victim.
Police in Minersville say they were called to a home in the 100 block of Sunbury St. at about 9 a.m. Monday. At the scene, police say they spoke with a neighbor who says he was awoken by loud screaming coming from a neighboring apartment.
The neighbor told police that the scream sounded like that from a horror movie. He said he went to the hallway of the apartment building and found a woman curled up in a corner and crying. He then invited the woman to his apartment to get away from her alleged attacker, Dakota Zakashefski, 23, of Minersville.
As police were speaking with the neighbor, Zakashefski reportedly came outside and spoke to an officer, saying that he “(bleeped) up this time” and that he was extremely upset about the victim cheating on him.
Zakashefski allegedly admitted that he went through the victim’s phone and saw things that made him angry and he asked her to leave. That led to a physical altercation, Zakashefski said.
The victim reportedly told police a similar story and that Zakashefski had grabbed her by her shirt and dragged her out of bed. He then began choking her and struck her in the face.
Police say they observed injuries consistent with the victim’s side of the story. She also told police that while Zakashefski was choking her, she could not breathe. EMS personnel were summoned to the scene and the victim was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-East for treatment of her injuries.
Zakashefski was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge David Plachko Monday morning and charged with felony strangulation, a misdemeanor count of simple assault, and summary offense for harassment.
Plachko set bail at $25,000 and Zakashefski was sent to Schuylkill County Prison, where he remains on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, police filed similar charges against Zakashefski for an incident that allegedly happened in June.
A woman told police that Zakashefski accused her of being pregnant and began punching her in the abdomen. As his alleged assault continued, he also grabbed the woman by her hair and dragged her to his bedroom, where he also threatened to sexually assault her. During his alleged attack, Zakashefski also prevented the victim from leaving his home.
For that alleged incident, he faces two counts of simple assault and one count of false imprisonment.
READ THAT FULL STORY HERE: Schuylkill County Man Charged with Punching Woman He Believed Was Pregnant
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