Jul 6, 2018 2 min read

A Washington man was arrested Thursday afternoon after he allegedly almost hit four women and another vehicle outside a North Strabane Township hotel while leaving the parking lot following a dispute with his former girlfriend.

Cody Paul Helmick, 29, of 3136 W. Chestnut St., had been told he was not permitted to be on the property of Candlewood Suites, 255 Meadowlands Boulevard.

A hotel employee was outside with Helmick’s former girlfriend when he came up and wanted to talk with her. Police said she refused and told him to leave several times. The employee told police she and the former girlfriend started to walk away when Helmick ran at his former girlfriend and grabbed the keys to her truck. He then got in the vehicle.

Police said the employee ran inside, telling her boss, and the former girlfriend yelled at Helmick to get out of the truck. Three hotel employees also yelled at him. Police said he drove out of the lot, almost hitting another vehicle and the people outside the hotel.

Police found the truck in a nearby parking lot. They said Helmick is seen on surveillance running into a wooded area. Police said he tried calling his former girlfriend, saying he did not do anything and wanted to talk with her. Police spoke with him, and he agreed to return to the hotel, where he was taken into custody.

The former girlfriend later told police he drove at her “at full speed.” She also told police he had been abusive to her in the past and his presence at the hotel put her in fear for her own safety.

Helmick was arraigned before District Judge Traci McDonald on charges of robbery of a motor vehicle, theft, reckless endangerment, criminal trespass, harassment and driving with a suspended license.

He was placed in Washington County jail on $20,000 bond. Helmick is scheduled for a July 17 preliminary hearing before District Judge Jay Weller.