Hook man convicted in assault on girlfriend
MEDIA COURTHOUSE » A Marcus Hook man was convicted on nearly all counts Thursday for a 2016 assault inside his Green Street apartment that left the victim with abrasions to her neck and wrists.
Paul Anthony Arnao, 50, was found guilty of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, possession of narcotics with intent to deliver, simple assault, possessing an instrument of crime and possessing a controlled substance. He was cleared on charges of attempted murder and tampering with evidence.
The victim did not testify in the case, but Marcus Hook Officer Dan Barnett told Deputy District Attorney Michael Galantino Tuesday that he was dispatched to the area of Ninth and Green streets shortly after midnight on Jan. 4, 2016, where he found the woman on the sidewalk outside her mother’s house.
Barnett said the 34-year-old victim was “hysterical” and described her demeanor as “terrified and upset.” He said the woman told him Arnao, her boyfriend, had attempted to strangle her with a yellow rope. The victim also said Arnao had guns and that she was afraid he would use them against the police, according to Barnett.
Barnett and back-up officers went to Arnao’s second-floor apartment on the 800 block of Green Street, where he said Arnao exited as they were discussing how to approach the residence.
Police cleared the apartment after placing Arnao into custody and found no one else inside the apartment, said Barnett. During that sweep, he said he noticed a yellow rope on the floor between the kitchen and living room, a silver revolver hanging on a wall and some loose live rounds of ammunition scattered on a chair.
Arnao later gave officers permission to search his apartment and police seized several items, according to an affidavit of probable cause. These included the rope, revolver and a glass jar containing marijuana, as well as a brown ceramic jar containing three bags of methamphetamine, a small zipper bag containing four more bags of methamphetamine, another intact revolver and a revolver in two pieces.
Police also confiscated empty baggies identical to those containing the crystal meth, a digital scale, notebooks containing instructions on how to make crystal meth, two tool boxes containing lock pick sets and several rounds of ammunition, according to the affidavit.
Arnao testified Wednesday that he never signed a form allowing officers to search his apartment and claimed that nearly all of the contraband and the notebooks found inside belonged to another man who was living there at the time but who has since died.
The ammunition was for the victim’s guns, according to Arnao, and he said the other weapons were antiques or collectibles that he had rendered nonfunctional. Delaware County Detective Louis Grandizio testified that at least one of the pistols was operable, however.
Arnao, who owns the building, said the yellow rope was supposed to be used for pulling cable up to his apartment and was in a work bag. He did not know how it got on the kitchen floor, he said.
The victim’s mother also testified that her daughter came banging on her door shortly after midnight Jan. 4 in a hysterical state.
“She said, ‘Mommy, mommy, mommy … he tried to hang me and he tried to kill me,’” the woman said. “She said he had a rope and he hung it over something and it broke when … I guess he was hauling her up, trying to strangle her.”
Arnao told defense attorney Jonathan Sobel that he was in such a bad state at that time that he couldn’t even use his left hand to hold a carton of milk. Arnao said he suffers from a torn bicep, had recently gone through two knee replacement surgeries, and was missing half a lung and four bones in his left hand.
The mother claimed her daughter would not testify against Arnao because she is terrified of him, but Arnao said the alleged victim is still living at his apartment, taking care of his cats and conducting business on his behalf. He claimed the woman is actually terrified of her mother and that was why she was not in court. Arnao was convicted in 2001 of assaulting a Folcroft woman, for which he was sentenced to 30 to 60 months in state prison. Galantino had also prosecuted that case.
Arnao was also on probation at that time for a 1997 Montgomery County stalking case, in which he ripped the heads off a woman’s two birds while she listened from a closet. He was sentenced to 18 to 36 months in state prison in that case.
Galantino noted Monday that Arnao could be facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years as a “third strike” for his third felony conviction.
Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Judge Richard Cappelli granted Galantino’s motion to rescind bail and set sentencing for Oct. 4 pending a presentence investigation, and psychiatric and psychological evaluations.