CLEARFIELD – A Brisbin man is accused of assaulting a woman on Valentine’s Day while she was holding their young child.
Jason Robert Potter, 37, is charged by Clearfield-based state police with felony strangulation and endangering the welfare of children, misdemeanor simple assault and summary harassment.
Potter waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court. His bail was also modified from $75,000 monetary to unsecured.
The charges stem from an incident that occurred at approximately 9:48 a.m. Feb. 14 at a Brisbin residence, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed with the office of Magisterial District Judge James Glass.
Potter and the victim were reportedly engaged in a verbal argument, which escalated when he threw a candy tin at a picture on the wall. The victim picked up the couple’s four-year-old child and retreated towards her bedroom.
He then threw a coffeemaker towards the victim, which state police say could have caused serious bodily injury to the victim and or the child, if it had hit them.
Potter reportedly shoved the victim through the bedroom doorway, causing their child to hit his right arm off the door jamb and bruising it. This also caused the victim to fall onto the bed with the child.
At this point, Potter allegedly “mounted” the victim on the bed, and proceeded to slap and punch her on both sides of her face, which caused swelling, reddening and bruising.
He also applied pressure to her neck with his forearm, state police say, and this made it difficult for the victim to breathe. It was noted that the victim thought she’d pass out.
