close

Normalville man not guilty on aggravated assault on pregnant girlfriend, but guilty on assault with vehicle

By Mark Hofmann mhofmann@heraldstandard.Com 5 min read
article image -

The trial of a Normalville man accused of dragging his pregnant girlfriend with his car ended with a not guilty verdict on two of the most serious charges of aggravated assault and a simple assault charge, but guilty on remaining charges, including endangering the welfare of children and aggravated assault by vehicle.

Following an approximate two-hour deliberation on Tuesday, a Fayette County jury found Patrick L. Hileman, 49, guilty on two charges of endangering the welfare of children, one charge of aggravated assault by vehicle and three counts of recklessly endangering another person.

The first and only day of testimony in Hileman’s trial started with the victim, Rachel Pletcher, 35, telling the jury about the incident on July 2, 2016, on a Normalville roadway.

Pletcher said she and the two children, ages 1 and 2, belonging to her and Hileman, her boyfriend at the time, were seated in the Chevrolet Suburban and preparing to see fireworks in East Huntingdon.

However, Hileman started screaming at her when the car needed oil.

“He said, ‘What kind of effing moron doesn’t put oil in the vehicle?'” she said, adding that Hileman put some oil in the car and returned to the vehicle.

Pletcher said their children were crying in the back seat as she pleaded with him to stop or she would call the police.

She testified that as she bent down to get the cellphone from her purse at her feet, Hileman grabbed her hair and slammed her head against the dashboard’s radio about 10 times, as she couldn’t remember.

Hileman’s attorney, Thomas Shaffer, questioned the logistics of the vehicle’s interior, saying the radio was in the middle of the dashboard.

Pletcher said when Hileman stopped the vehicle to yell at her some more, she immediately punched him in the face.

Shaffer asked her why she punched him after he stopped and not run away.

“I wanted him to stop and get my kids out of the car,” she said. “I wasn’t going to leave my kids in the car with him.”

Pletcher testified when she opened the door and started to step out of the vehicle, Hileman “punched the gas” and accelerated the vehicle down the road, dragging her along Clinton Road as she held onto the door.

After an unknown distance, she said Hileman stopped the vehicle, and Pletcher re-entered as he started driving until she told him that her sandals fell off and they needed to go back to retrieve them.

Pletcher then testified when she opened the door and was bending out the door to pick up her sandals, Hileman pushed her out of the vehicle where she landed face down on the road and Hileman’s vehicle ran over her leg, crushing her ankle and lower leg.

Shaffer, again, questioned the logistics of the interior of the vehicle, saying the distance between both doors was 68 inches and would be too far of a stretch for Hileman to reach.

Fayette County Assistant District Attorney Sean Lementowski said the total distance from door to door is irrelevant because that measurement doesn’t count the distance taken up by Hileman on the driver side and Pletcher on the passenger seat.

Pletcher testified that she passed out after the vehicle drove over her as she woke up at UPMC Mercy on July 5 where she had two surgeries for swelling of her brain as well as surgeries on her leg and ankle.

She said her month-long hospital stay was followed by another hospital stay after she contracted MRSA.

Hileman denied that he was speeding, that the children were crying, that he assaulted her, pushed her out of the vehicle, dragged her and ran her over.

The defense argued that Pletcher jumped out of the vehicle as Hileman testified that they were not arguing at all, that he calmly told her about putting oil in the car and that she punched him when he suggested she’d take the protection from abuse (PFA) order off on him since they were back together.

Shaffer asked Pletcher if she took the prescription drug Adderall because of depression and suicidal thoughts, but she said the medication was for ADD to help her focus, and she didn’t have side effects.

Shaffer said the medicals records showed that Pletcher was depressed with suicidal thoughts, which Pletcher said she told the doctors that when she was a teenager, not an adult.

Fayette County Judge Nancy Vernon also found Hileman guilty on summary charges including two counts of harassment and one count each of careless driving and reckless driving.

Prior to and following the reading of the jury’s verdict, Shaffer called for a mistrial, stating jury misconduct as some of the photographs entered into evidence had writing on them, which Shaffer interpreted as the jury not taking the evidence as is, but creating evidence.

Vernon said she did not interpret the writings as such and denied Shaffer’s motion.

Vernon also denied Lementowski’s motion on revoking Hileman’s bond as Shaffer stated Hileman has not violated any conditions of the bond or the PFA against him.

Hileman remains free on $20,000 bond with sentencing scheduled at 9:30 a.m. May 7.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $4.79/week.

Subscribe Today