EVANS CITY — An Evans City man accused of entering a Zelienople apartment through a window, punching holes in the walls and assaulting a woman saw charges moved forward to common pleas court Tuesday, June 20.

Zelienople police initially charged Justin R. Altman, 35, with felony burglary, misdemeanor simple assault and disorderly conduct and summary harassment. Following witness testimony, new charges were proposed by assistant district attorney David Beichner.

Altman appeared before District Judge Amy Marcinkiewicz for his preliminary hearing, where witness Bailey Wilson testified to the events of June 11.

Wilson said she and Altman had previously been in a relationship, and that he had been in her apartment the week before.

At 7:20 a.m. on June 11, Wilson said she woke up to a “ruckus” downstairs in her apartment, where all of her doors were locked.

“I sat up and looked at the staircase, and (Altman) was walking up,” she said

Altman then started shouting how Wilson, “took everything from him,” before punching five holes in her door and wall, she said.

Wilson said her door was cracked from the blows.

“He threw me on the bed, kind of held me down … ” she testified. “When he was holding me on the bed, he had a hand on my throat, but it wasn’t like choking.”

Altman continued shouting during the altercation, eventually punching Wilson in the stomach, according to her testimony.

Wilson told Beichner during questioning that the entire event lasted five to 10 minutes, and she was scared.

Following the punch, Wilson said Altman got off her and went downstairs. She said she recorded the rest of the event.

Wilson testified that the video she got depicts Altman walking down her stairs. She caught up with him in the kitchen when she heard her kitchen blinds being tampered with.

Altman then took her phone and left out of the kitchen’s sliding door, Wilson said.

During cross-examination, Wilson revealed that she expected to see Altman that day, as they had made plans for him to come over. She later advised him not to come over.

“He told me he’d gone out, and I said I didn’t want to see him. I know how he gets when he’s drinking,” she said.

Beichner asked Marcinkiewicz that counts of robbery and theft be added to Altman’s charges. Defense attorney Dennis R. Marion Jr. argued that the commonwealth did not meet its burden of proof for the new charges.

“For robbery, there has to be evidence that a person entered a residence with the intent to commit a crime. … They haven’t met intent on burglary, robbery and theft.”

He added that though Altman was accused of taking Wilson’s phone, it was returned later that day.

Marcinkiewicz said the prosecution had met its burden, added the new charges and held the rest over for county common pleas court.