A Schuylkill County man was jailed Wednesday on a felony strangulation charge after police say he punched his live-in girlfriend in the face and choked her with a cell phone cord because she refused to perform a sex act on him.
Howard Ash IV, 47, of Port Carbon, was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon after officers found the woman with visible injuries to her face and neck.
Port Carbon police were called to an apartment on Acre St. shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday for a reported domestic disturbance. Responding officers found Ash inside, where he told police he’d had a verbal argument with his live-in girlfriend. Ash said the woman sleeps all day and that she became irate and “wrecked the apartment” when he woke her up. Ash told police he didn’t know where the woman was and that he “just wants her to leave.”
While officers were speaking with Ash, dispatchers reported that EMS was being sent to the District Court office in Port Carbon for a female assault victim. An officer who was assisting at the scene responded to the woman’s location and confirmed she was Ash’s girlfriend, with visible injuries to her face and neck.
Based on that information, officers took Ash into custody without incident and transported him to the police station, with assistance from Saint Clair Police.
After Ash was in custody, the woman told police she had been sleeping on the couch when Ash woke her by hitting her in the face. She said Ash then demanded oral sex and when she refused, struck her several more times in the face with a closed fist. The woman also told police Ash grabbed her by the neck and choked her with a cell phone cord.
Police said the assault left the woman with visible swelling to her right eye and nose, and bruising to her neck.
Ash was arraigned on a second-degree felony count of strangulation, a second-degree misdemeanor count of simple assault, and a summary count of harassment before a Magisterial District Judge Anthony Kilker, who set bail at $50,000. Ash was remanded to Schuylkill County Prison.
Canary readers likely remember Ash from our article published Thursday recounting the events of June 9 when he was arrested and allegedly had a bag of meth in his pants pocket. Hours after that arrest, Ash represented himself in Schuylkill County Court, successfully acquitting himself of a DUI charge related to a traffic stop last year.
Read that story here: Meth Arrest Comes Hours Before Schuylkill Man Testifies He Is Clean, Acquitted on DUI Charge
Earlier this year, Ash was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman in the same Port Carbon apartment as this most recent incident after the victim got upset because he was saying another woman’s name in bed. Charges in that case were dismissed.
Read that story here: Schuylkill County Man Facing Assault Charge After Allegedly Saying Another Woman’s Name in Bed
Schuylkill County Crisis & Support Resources
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse or sexual violence, free, confidential, and inclusive help is available 24/7 in Schuylkill County.
- Schuylkill Hope Center (Domestic Violence): Call the 24/7 hotline at (570) 622-6220, text HOPELINE to 20121, or visit schopecenter.org. Services include emergency shelter, housing assistance, counseling, and legal representation.
- SARCC (Sexual Assault): Call the 24/7 hotline at (570) 628-2965 or visit sarccheals.org for counseling, advocacy, and healing support for survivors of sexual violence.
- Outside Schuylkill County: Residents across Pennsylvania can find their local domestic violence program at pcadv.org. You can also visit domesticshelters.org to find resources near you.
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