A Schuylkill County man facing an aggravated assault and other charges for throwing a citation at a State Trooper’s head had his case dismissed Monday morning in District Court.
Allen Johns Jr. was accused of throwing a citation at a State Police Trooper and hitting him in the head after he and his neighbor had been cited for harassment in an ongoing dispute between the two in South Manheim Township.
At a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge James Reiley on Monday morning, Trooper Ryan Kalinich testified about being called to the scene of a disturbance between Johns and his neighbor, Daniel D’Arco.
Kalinich and his partner, Trooper Thomas Robin, went to speak to Johns about the incident, he said.
“We’ve been there before,” he said as to why he and Robin knew to go to Johns’ back door to speak with him. “It’s the same thing over and over again.”
Johns slammed the door in the Troopers’ faces when they attempted to give him a citation for harassment, Kalinich said. He then opened the door, grabbed the citation, balled it up and then threw it at Robin.
The paper hit Robin in the side of the head. Kalinich said he and Robin turned around and attempted to take Johns into custody but he placed his hands under his chest.
While on the ground, Johns allegedly told his wife to get a gun, Kalinich added.
Robin testified that he wasn’t injured by the piece of paper hitting him in the head.
Johns was charged with aggravated assault, a first-degree felony, along with misdemeanor counts of making terroristic threats and resisting arrest, as well as a summary citation for harassment.
During cross exam, Johns’ attorney James Conville questioned Kalinich why he and Robin needed to use force to take the suspect into custody as he attempted to retreat into his home after throwing the paper. He also asked if Johns threatened to shoot the Troopers, which Kalinich said he didn’t.
Conville argued to Reiley that the Commonwealth hadn’t proven a case for aggravated assault or even attempted aggravated assault. He also made a case for dismissing the resisting arrest charge against his client.
And although he did admit that there might be enough evidence to hold a charge of harassment and disorderly conduct over for Schuylkill County Court, Reiley quickly decided to dismiss all charges against Johns, saying the Commonwealth had not met its burden of proof.
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