CLEARFIELD – A Clearfield man has been accused of forcing entry into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment and assaulting her.
Chad A. Butler, 36, has been charged by Officer Devin Gill of the Lawrence Township police with felony criminal trespass, misdemeanor counts of simple assault and disorderly conduct and two summaries.
Butler waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court at the Clearfield County Jail. His bail is currently set at $50,000 unsecured.
The charges stem from a physical domestic dispute that occurred the evening of April 26 at the Lawrence Park Village, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
The caller reported that her daughter’s ex-boyfriend, identified as Butler, had choked her daughter, then fled from the apartment before she got there.
Upon arrival, officers saw a footprint on the front door of the victim’s apartment. During an interview, she said she and Butler had been arguing over the phone and she had hung up on him.
She said he repeatedly called her, but she refused to answer any of his calls. After this, she said there were knocks at her door and she saw Butler duck out of view of the peephole.
When she told him “nice try, now leave,” she said he started yelling for her to open the door and kicked it. When he entered, Butler allegedly shoved her into a counter and started choking her.
She said he threw her to the floor, then tried to break her phone and take her purse before leaving with an unknown female in a gray sports utility vehicle.
The victim told police Butler wasn’t on her lease and she’d kicked him out a few weeks earlier. While Gill didn’t observe any injuries to her, there was evidence of a struggle.
Later police were notified by Clearfield County Control that the victim had completed paperwork and it could be picked up.
When Gill went to her apartment, she said Butler had just been there yelling at her and dropping off property but had fled prior to his arrival. Gill told her to go inside and he’d search the area.
Butler, however, wasn’t located at that time, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Officers went back to the victim’s apartment and advised her to call if Butler came back.
Butler was taken into custody April 29 by officers, according to a previously-published Lawrence Township police report.
