Man jailed after threatening woman with gun
Monongahela police arrested a man Sunday after he was accused of using a firearm to hold a woman against her will.
John Steven Chmiel, 46, of Monongahela, faces a felony kidnapping charge and several misdemeanors of unlawful restraint, terroristic threats, simple assault, reckless endangerment and possession of a controlled substance.
According to the criminal complaint, police were called at about 7:18 p.m. Sunday to the 200 block of Frye Avenue.
Court records state that Chmiel would not let a woman leave the bedroom in his residence and threatened to shoot her “if she attempted to leave or if she refused to comply with his demands for sex.”
The woman was able to escape and fled to a neighbor’s house. She told investigators that Chmiel had been using methamphetamine for the previous 14 hours.
Officers took Chmiel into custody and found a loaded handgun in his pants pocket. According to the complaint, the woman provided police with drugs that allegedly belonged to Chmiel.
Charging documents state that Chmiel told investigators in an interview that the woman “should have been scared that I had my gun and that she needed to listen.”
Chmiel was arraigned Monday morning before District Judge Joshua Kanalis, who sent him to the Washington County jail without bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. Sept. 29.