Pair charged in debt assault
MARION TWP — A couple is accused of teaming up to kick and rob a 50-year-old man at his northern Butler County home.
State police Tuesday arrested James W. Bowser, 43, and Michelle R. Fleeger, 45, both of Venango Township, in an alleged weekend attack that left the victim with broken ribs and numerous other injuries.
Troopers were called about 8:30 p.m. Friday to the man's mobile home on County Line Road where he said the defendants confronted him over money he supposedly owed them, according to court documents.
The couple continued to demand money until Bowser allegedly grabbed the victim and held him down on the floor while Fleeger “forcibly kicked” him in the head, face, back and ribs.
The victim eventually gave up and handed over the money to his assailants, documents said. The defendants drove away in a car.
During their investigation, police said they spoke to a neighbor who reported that she heard “screaming” coming from the victim's home.
She walked into the home and “saw Fleeger and Bowser standing over and surrounding” the man, documents said.
When she asked what they were doing, according to a police affidavit, Fleeger told her to “mind her own business.”The neighbor told police that she saw the defendants drive away and she called 911.Police said they found the injured victim in his home. He was bloody, they noted, and there was a “large bloodstain on the floor where the assault occurred.”The man was taken to Grove City Medical Center and treated for a minor head injury, lower back muscle strains and multiple bruises to the head, nose, lower lip and around the eyes. He also had two broken ribs.District Judge Lewis Stoughton on Tuesday arraigned Bowser and Fleeger on felony charges of aggravated assault, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, and misdemeanor charges of simple assault and harassment.The defendants were placed in Butler County Prison on $15,000 bail following arraignment. Their preliminary hearings are set for Aug. 14 at Stoughton's office in Chicora.
