CLEARFIELD – A Duncansville man is facing charges for allegedly holding a knife to a woman’s neck multiple times and threatening her in one case and assaulting a state trooper in a second case.
In the first case, Jonathan M. Chirdon, 39, is charged by Trooper Brian A. Elensky Sr. of the Clearfield-based state police with two felony counts of aggravated assault, three misdemeanor counts of simple assault, misdemeanor recklessly endangering another person and summary harassment.
In the second case, Chirdon is charged by Trooper Shane M. Buffone with felony aggravated assault, misdemeanor simple assault and summary harassment.
Chirdon waived his right to a preliminary hearing in both assault cases during centralized court on Wednesday.
According to the affidavit of probable cause in the first case, at approximately 11:38 p.m. March 28, Elensky was dispatched to an active domestic violence incident at a Viola Pike residence in Gulich Township. The victim reported Chirdon held a knife to her throat and threatened her.
Upon arrival, Elensky observed a group of people in the driveway and learned the victim’s family and friends had arrived just minutes before him. Chirdon was located inside the residence and initially refused to leave but was “lawfully removed” by a group of men, state police said.
At the scene, the trooper spoke with the victim who showed him what appeared to be a hunting knife with an approximate three- to four-inch blade. Elensky reportedly observed long, thin, red markings and cuts on the victim’s throat and face, which she said were caused by Chirdon.
In a written statement, she said she asked Chirdon to leave but he refused. When she went into the bedroom to his phone, she said Chirdon threatened her with the knife by holding it to her neck and also refused to give her, her phone.
She said as she tried to find her phone, Chirdon put the knife to her neck multiple times. She said when she tried to get the knife from him, he cut her left hand in the process.
At one point, the victim said she locked herself inside her bedroom to escape from Chirdon.
In an interview with state police, Chirdon initially acted as though he didn’t know what happened. Later, he reportedly admitted that he took all the knives from the victim’s kitchen and hid them.
While Elensky was on-scene, he said Chirdon was “loud, rude and insulting,” and it was apparent he was “manifestly” under the influence of alcohol.
As part of his investigation, the trooper said he found an empty case of beer containing knives. Inside the victim’s residence, he also found a key on the floor near the bedroom the victim had locked herself in.
According to the affidavit of probable cause in the second case, on the morning of March 29, Buffone received information from Trooper Adam Cummings that another trooper was injured while Chirdon was in police custody.
Cummings said Chirdon was handcuffed behind his back and seat-belted in a patrol unit operated by Elensky to be transported to the Clearfield County Jail.
Chirdon became agitated, removed his seatbelt and started to move around, and Elensky pulled into the Snappy’s Convenience Store in Houtzdale to secure Chirdon, the trooper said.
Cummings and Trooper Matthew Borden also pulled in to assist, and it was decided that Chirdon would be transported in a two-man car instead. Chirdon was seated in the back, passenger’s side but refused to put his legs inside the vehicle.
Borden had to use force to put Chirdon’s legs in, and attempted to hand Cummings the seatbelt. Chirdon then allegedly head-butted Borden in the face; when Borden pushed him away, Chirdon lunged at him again.
Borden used his forearm to hold Chirdon back, so that the seatbelt could be secured. It was noted that the trooper sustained a contusion to his upper lip and a tear to his upper frenulum.