Man sentenced for domestic violence

COURTHOUSE » A Lower Providence man has been ordered to serve several months in jail for assaulting his girlfriend during an argument at a township residence.

Timothy Moyer, 48, who listed an address in the first block of East Mount Kirk Avenue, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to four to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of simple assault in connection with a June 5, 2017, incident at a residence in the 100 block of Woodland Lane in the township.

Judge William R. Carpenter, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered Moyer to complete a domestic violence counseling program and to have no offensive contact with the woman he assaulted. Moyer is eligible for the jail’s work release program during his incarceration.

A more serious felony charge of strangulation was dismissed against Moyer as part of the plea agreement.

The investigation began about 9:10 p.m. when township police were dispatched to the Woodland Lane residence for a domestic disturbance. A woman at the residence reported an altercation with Moyer, who was identified as the woman’s boyfriend. The woman told police Moyer fled into nearby woods when she notified police, according to the criminal complaint.

The woman told police Moyer grabbed her by the neck and shoved her up against a wall during an argument.

“(The victim) stated to me that she could not breathe as a result of this and started scratching at Mr. Moyer’s chest to attempt to get him to release his hold around her neck. (The victim) indicated that she was experiencing slight pain in her neck area due to Mr. Moyer grabbing her,” Lower Providence Police Officer Jeremy S. Bonner alleged in the arrest affidavit.

Police observed a red mark on the woman’s neck, according to the criminal complaint.

Under state law, by pleading guilty to the simple assault charge, Moyer admitted that he attempted to cause or intentionally or recklessly caused bodily injury to the woman.