CLEARFIELD – A Rockton man pleaded guilty to felony strangulation recently during sentencing court.
Everardo Ricardo Arredondo, III, 38, also pleaded guilty to simple assault and was sentenced by President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman to serve one year to nine years in state prison. He must also pay over $1,000 in restitution to the victim and attend counseling.
Prior to sentencing, the victim addressed the court saying her family “just wants to feel safe.” She explained it has been a tough few years for them.
“You can’t imagine the phone calls we have received over the years,” she stated. “I told him I was afraid for the kid’s safety and he said he’d never do anything creepy. Then four months later he did this.”
She said she was not opposed to him receiving extensive mental health treatment.
Arredondo’s brother spoke defending him. He stated that Arredondo’s actions were not in his character but he was angry that his relationship was falling apart. He turned to alcohol as a coping mechanism, his brother said.
Arredondo himself addressed the court, apologizing to the victim and the court. He said he was taking responsibility for his actions.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, on March 15, police were called to a Union Township residence for a report of an active domestic situation. Before they got to the home, they saw a woman walking who waived them down.
“She appeared visibly distraught, and her clothing was ragged/ripped,” it says in the criminal complaint. She was also described as holding her left side/ribs and having blood on her face and lips. She identified Arredondo as the assailant.
When police arrived at the residence, they knocked several times but were unable to make contact with Arredondo. They instead went to Penn Highlands DuBois to speak with the victim who had been transported to the facility.
In her interview, she said she was asleep when she woke up with Arredondo strangling her, causing her to be unable to breathe.
“I felt like he was going to kill me,” she told investigators.
Arredondo walked away and came back multiple times to continue strangling her and he seemed angry about not being able to find something, she said. She was able to get out of her room and into her children’s room, but he followed her.
She stated he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her around the room before dragging her to the ground in front of the children.
While she was on the ground, he kicked and stomped on her stomach/rib area causing her pain. During the assault he also struck her in the face approximately five times with a closed fist.
She recalled her daughters telling him to stop. They were able to distract Arredondo long enough for her to get up and flee the residence.
The trooper noted in his report that she had fresh blood on her lips and face as well as multiple lacerations on the inside of her mouth that were still actively bleeding. She also had fresh blood and lacerations on her left hand and left leg with markings on her left rib area.
