CLEARFIELD – A Clearfield man, who was stabbed after he tried to break into a residence in October, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court.
Zachary Allen Hess, 39, is charged with felony burglary, criminal trespass, and misdemeanor terroristic threats, simple assault, disorderly conduct along with summary criminal mischief.
After a preliminary hearing, District Judge David Meholick ruled that all charges should be sent to the court of common pleas for further disposition. Hess is being held in the county jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.
The charges stem from an incident on Oct. 22 on Daisy Street.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, police were called to the home for an attempted break-in. They were advised by the caller that the person trying to get into the residence had a gun.
When they arrived on scene, a witness who was standing outside had blood on her face. She explained that the culprit, identified as Hess, had wiped his blood on her.
The victim told officers that he was in his living room when he heard several thuds on the backdoor. As he approached the door, the window in the door fell inward. The door was locked with a deadbolt and by the door handle. The person outside said “you’re going to die”, the victim reported.
After hearing this, the victim ran out the front door because he did not know if the defendant had a gun or another weapon. He yelled for someone to call 911.
A car then pulled up in front of the home. The victim pulled out his pocketknife and opened it for “protection”, he related. Hess approached him and swung at him. The victim was able to duck and then stab the individual twice before he retreated.
The woman who was outside, told the officers that she was across the street when she heard the victim yell for someone to call 911. She then witnessed Hess attacking the victim and punching him. However, she did not see the victim stab Hess. Hess took his hand that had blood on it and wiped it on her face saying “that’s what you get b***h.” She said Hess then got into a vehicle and left.
Another witness who lives next door told a similar story, although she mentioned she thought she saw a gun in Hess’s hand.
Officers spoke with the driver of the car who picked up Hess at the hospital.
She admitted she drove him to the victim’s home because he wanted to check on a woman there. She reported that she saw Hess approach the back door and then walk around the house to the front. She followed him in the vehicle.
She stated that Hess went to hit the victim and the victim stabbed Hess. Hess then allegedly threw a punch and the victim responded with a punch. Hess lifted his shirt and stated he was stabbed. It was then he got into the vehicle and she took him to the hospital.
Police were able to speak with Hess prior to him being sedated for a medical procedure.
At first he claimed as he was knocking on the back door, the victim ran around the house and stabbed him twice in the back. He claimed the victim broke through his own back door and then went out the front. He then changed his report saying he was knocking on the back door when the victim came after him, going through the rear door window in an attempt to stab him. He said the victim stabbed him as he was rolling away. He confirmed this happened in the back of the residence. He said he then went to the front and the victim came after him, saying he was going to kill him, as he stabbed him again.
Hess told another officer who was first at the hospital that he was at the front of the house where the victim was “provoking him” before running at him.
Investigators found blood spots on the sidewalk where the altercation had taken place. The back door window appeared to have been pushed from the outside into the home.
According to the report, Hess sustained a puncture to his left lung causing a sucking chest wound. He also had a laceration to his left buttocks. He was transported to the Penn Highlands DuBois Trauma unit for further treatment.
