Victim refuses to testify in alleged assault case
All charges against a Uniontown man accused of pushing his wife down a flight of stairs at their apartment Aug. 5 were dismissed Tuesday after the alleged victim refused to testify. City police Sgt. Wayne Brown said Charles E. Thomas III, 46, of Apartment 2, 22 Race St. was charged before Magisterial District Judge Wendy D. Dennis with simple assault and harassment following the altercation with his wife, Carrie Rittenhouse.
During a preliminary hearing Tuesday before Senior Magisterial District Judge Robert Breakiron, the charges against Thomas were dismissed after Rittenhouse informed the court that she would not testify against Thomas.
The alleged assault marked the 12th time in the last eight months that police have been summoned to the home for domestic disputes, Brown said.
Brown said the incident began the night of Aug. 4 when Rittenhouse, 20, arrived home and found her husband intoxicated. Thomas started to argue with his wife and then told her that he planned to cheat on her, Brown said.
During the argument, Brown said Rittenhouse tried to leave but Thomas grabbed her by the hair, pushed her to the floor and punched her in the mouth.
Rittenhouse then told police that she tried to call 911 but Thomas grabbed the telephone and broke it, Brown said.
At that point, Rittenhouse grabbed a cellular telephone and tried to run from the home but was pushed down about 12 stairs from the second floor to the ground floor by Thomas, Brown said.
Brown said police found Thomas inside the home and took him into custody without incident.