CLEARFIELD – A Woodland man charged with assault in two cases recently pleaded guilty during colloquy court with sentencing in Clearfield County.
Everson Brian Berringer, 23, an inmate of the jail, pleaded guilty to criminal trespass, terroristic threats, unlawful restraint, simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment in the first case and simple assault, terroristic threats, disorderly conduct and harassment in the second case. He was sentenced to six months to one year in jail and two years of probation. He was fined $685 plus costs. He must also complete 100 hours of community service. His sentence will run consecutive to a 90-day sentence he is serving for a protection from abuse order violation.
The charges stem from incidents in Lawrence Township on June 9 and in Clearfield Borough on June 16 when Berringer assaulted his estranged wife.
Prior to sentencing, Judge Paul Cherry stated that he decided to give Berringer a county sentence after reading a letter from the victim. Cherry referred to their involvement as a love/hate relationship. He warned Berringer again to stay away from her.
Berringer said he was sorry but admitted that just saying “sorry” was not enough for what he had done.
According to the affidavit of probable cause in the first case, the victim told police Berringer had been calling her non-stop and text messaging her nearly every half hour since June 8 when she had a conversation with him regarding her belongings. She told him to cease contact but it continued.
As she was leaving work on June 9, she found her car was unlocked even though she had it locked prior to going into work. Inside she found her belongings, including her wedding dress, which had been damaged. On her way home, she had to stop because her check engine light was on. When she looked under the hood she noticed her spark plugs were loose and leaking through the compartment. She spoke with police who encouraged her to get a PFA order. An officer offered to contact Berringer to tell him to stop, but she was afraid that would make him more aggressive.
Later she called police again. She told them she was on the front porch of her apartment when she heard loud noises in the back, and it was Berringer throwing rocks at it and knocking.
She called him to tell him to leave, but he proceeded to push the door open, which threw her backwards. He then entered the apartment, insisting they have sex. As he attempted to get the phone out of her hand, he pushed her down and tried to force her to have sex, stating she owed him money and he was not leaving until he got what he wanted. He finally got off her when her phone rang. It was county control attempting to call her back. He smacked her in the face and threw her phone as he fled.
When police arrived Berringer had had left the scene and the victim was unable to locate him.
The second incident occurred June 16 after Berringer was stopped by police for running a blinking red light. While they were talking to him a report of domestic violence came in. They let him go telling him he would receive a citation in the mail. After the officers talked with dispatch, they learned Berringer was involved in the incident. They then pursued him and took him into custody.
The victim told police she had stopped at Sheetz in Clearfield when Berringer pulled his vehicle into the lot right behind her. He rolled down his window and threatened to kill her if she didn’t get into the car with him. She was afraid of what he would do if she didn’t listen, so she got into the car. He then drove off with her, complaining about her getting a PFA against him. He stated he would kill her before she divorced him.
She stated he drove through a median several times and did donuts while screaming at her and asking “are you scared now.” She kept asking him to take her back to her car. Instead he took her to Witmer Park where he told her to get out. But because of the child safety locks, she could not leave the vehicle. He then held her head down and punched her in the head multiple times.
Next he drove on toward Curwensville. At this point, he ripped the mirror from his car off and threw it at her. He grabbed her breast very hard, leaving a bruise. He told her “If you don’t act like everything is OK, I will rape you, or you can do it willingly. Those are your choices.” He hit her again multiple times while holding her head down. He said he hoped she was pregnant and “I’ll either kill it or you.” He ripped out an earring her father had given her.
Next he drove to a baseball field near Lawrence Park and hit her some more. He let her out close to the Choice gas station where he gave her back her cell phone. Before he left he threatened her to kill her if she called police and pointed to a ditch and saying her parents would find her body there.
She told police she thought “that he was going to kill me and dump my body wherever we were.”
The victim was taken to the hospital for treatment. She complained of blurred vision, dizziness and being light headed.