Dennis Heatherman Jr.

A Saxonburg man accused of strangling his girlfriend was barred Tuesday from contacting her again, after investigators say he called her 126 times from jail.

On Feb. 24, Dennis W. Heatherman, 41, allegedly assaulted his girlfriend at his home on the 200 block of Carol Drive. He was arraigned on one felony count of strangulation and a summary charge of harassment. Heatherman was ordered to have no contact with the victim and placed in Butler County Prison on a $25,000 bond.

In the last week, Heatherman landed another felony charge of intimidation of witnesses or victims, after allegedly placing more than 100 calls to the woman from behind bars.

Butler County detectives filed the charges after learning of 126 calls Heatherman made to the woman from jail. The calls were recorded and briefly summarized at a hearing Tuesday.

“In some of those phone calls, he has directed her not to cooperate with the Commonwealth,” said Ben Simon, a county assistant district attorney.

Butler County President Judge Thomas Doerr revoked Heatherman’s previous $25,000 bond and replaced it with a $50,000 cash bond.

Doerr’s initial no-contact order was also replaced by a harsher protective order. An important difference, Simon explained after the hearing, is the victim cannot choose to defy the protective order.

The order opens the door for further sanctions against Heatherman if he’s found communicating with the woman either directly or otherwise.

The calls in question were made between Feb. 25 and July 17 and were all recorded, as is regular practice at the jail.

Heatherman allegedly choked the woman, slapped her and pulled her hair, according to court documents.

Chuck Nedz, Heatherman’s public defender, did not object to the bond change or the protective order proposal.

Simon had originally planned to ask for Heatherman to be held in contempt of court for his repeated phone calls, but opted instead for the protective order after reviewing the law.