By Jim Smith

Butler Eagle Staff Writer

A Butler man was arrested Sunday after allegedly kicking his girlfriend in the head with steel-toe boots and threatening to “gut” her with a knife, city police said.

John W. Bittner, 28, is charged with felony assault and terroristic threats. He is in Butler County Prison on $10,000 bail.

The alleged victim, 24-year-old Nikki Mathews, apparently suffered minor injuries in the domestic altercation in Butler’s Island neighborhood.

A 911 call shortly after 5 p.m. led officers to the couple’s apartment on the 400 block of Negley Avenue, where they found Mathews and Bittner, who was stopped trying to leave.

Mathews told police that Bittner came home intoxicated, and they got into an argument that soon turned physical.

“She advised that he choked her, knocked her to the ground and kicked her in the head with steel-toe boots,” said police Deputy Chief David Adam. “He put a knee on her throat and got a kitchen knife, threatening to gut her with it.”

Police noted Mathews’ injuries included redness around the neck area.

Bittner’s preliminary hearing was not immediately scheduled.