North Strabane Township man charged with domestic assault
Police from several departments descended on a North Strabane Township neighborhood Thursday night after a woman summoned them because her husband allegedly was threatening to kill her with a high-powered rifle.
The firearm turned out to be a .22-caliber rifle with a suppressor, and the suspect, Joseph John Smith, 39, surrendered peacefully around midnight, court records allege.
Police from North Strabane, Canonsburg and Peters Township, as well as Washington County sheriff’s deputies, were sent to the 300 block of Linden Creek Road about 11:20 p.m. after Michelle Smith called 911 to report an assault.
She told a 911 dispatcher her husband had broken her jaw and was armed with an AK-style rifle, police noted in the affidavit. She accused him of stomping on the right side of her head.
Police found her hiding behind a neighbor’s pool and took her husband into custody on charges of simple assault and making terroristic threats. She later was treated for her injuries at Washington Hospital.
He is free on $25,000 bond set by District Judge Mark Wilson.