Police: Man pointed loaded pistol at girlfriend, child, 1
A Butler man is accused of pointing a loaded pistol at his live-in girlfriend and her infant child during a domestic dispute last week at their apartment.
City police later arrested 23-year-old Matthew S. Wivell on felony and other charges stemming from the incident Wednesday at the home on the 200 block of Fairview Avenue.
District Judge Sue Haggerty arraigned Wivell on Thursday on two felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and a felony charge of child endangerment. He also was arraigned on misdemeanor charges of simple assault and reckless endangerment.
He was released Friday on $3,000 bail and ordered to have no contact with the victim.
The victim advised police that she and the defendant, who have been together for about 10 months, had gotten into an argument about 7 p.m. Wednesday. According to charging documents, she told Wivell that he should kill himself.
He allegedly pulled from his wasitband a .40-caliber pistol, which had a round in the chamber, and pointed it at his girlfriend. He is accused of holding the gun against his head and also pointing it at the woman's 1-year-old child, police said.
Wivell eventually put the gun away, documents said, and no one was reportedly injured in the incident. He attempted to apologize to the victim before they again started to argue.
The couple subsequently separated for the night, police said.
On Thursday morning, according to documents, Wivell tried to apologize to his girlfriend but she “wanted to be left alone.” They again argued while at their home.
At one point, the defendant grabbed the victim by the shirt and as he pulled her toward him, their heads struck one another, causing the woman to suffer pain. He also allegedly pushed her to the ground.
The woman called 911, and police arrested the suspect without incident.
Wivell's preliminary hearing is tentatively set for Dec. 7. Online court record did not indicate if he has an attorney.
