Hearing scheduled for man accused of threats, assault
BUTLER TWP — A hearing will be held later this month for a Butler man accused of threatening his girlfriend's life and attempting to hit her with a baseball bat during an altercation at a motel.
No one was injured in the incident shortly after midnight Monday at the Almost Home Motel on New Castle Road in Butler Township.
District Judge William Fullerton arraigned David W. White, 53, of Butler on misdemeanor charges of terroristic threats and simple assault and a summary charge of harassment. He is free on nonmonetary bond.
Police were called to the motel for a reported domestic dispute. Officers arrived and spoke to the defendant's 55-year-old girlfriend.
The woman told police that she and White had gotten into an argument at their house earlier that day. He left and she subsequently found him at the motel, where he had been living before they recently moved to their home.
A female friend accompanied the woman, who found the door to White's room was locked. She opened a window and got into the room. Her friend followed her inside.
She found her boyfriend with another woman, according to charging documents.
White told police when he saw his girlfriend and her 56-year-old friend come through the window, he became angry and yelled at them. The other woman, a 35-year-old, left the room.
White's girlfriend recounted that the defendant picked up a baseball bat and began chasing her and her friend, police said. He is also accused of threatening to kill his girlfriend and swinging the bat at the woman and her friend before the victims fled.
Police said the friend gave a similar account as White's girlfriend.
The defendant, however, denied swinging or holding the bat, documents said. The 35-year-old woman also told police that she never saw White with a bat before she quickly gathered up her belongings and fled the room.
White's preliminary hearing is scheduled Dec. 19 at the office of District Judge Kevin O'Donnell. Online court records did not indicate if he has an attorney. White could not be reached for comment.
