Police: After DUI arrest, man gets arrested again for attacking girlfriend

After his arrest on a drunken driving charge, a 34-year-old man attacked his girlfriend who was giving him a ride home from the police barracks in Bethlehem on Monday night, according to court records.

The same trooper who stopped Sanel Vukel for the alleged drunken driving came upon the domestic assault, which happened less than a half-mile from the police barracks, police said.

Vukel, of Kunkletown, was arrested for the second time in two hours and was charged with terroristic threats, simple assault and harassment. He was arraigned by District Judge Rod Beck and was sent to Lehigh County Jail under $30,000 bail.

According to a criminal complaint:

Trooper Chad Burry stopped a black Honda Fit at 6:15 p.m. Monday on Route 22 near Route 191 in Bethlehem Township and arrested Vukel, the driver, on suspicion of drunken driving. Vukel was taken to the hospital for a blood draw and was returned to the state police barracks, where he was released to his girlfriend at 7:50 p.m.

About 17 minutes later, Burry was driving on Avenue A, just west of Avenue B, in Bethlehem when he spotted the same black Honda Fit stopped in the middle of the road with the driver’s door fully open.

The trooper said he could see through the rear window that the passenger was on top of the driver. The trooper got out of his vehicle and could hear a woman screaming, “stop,” “don’t touch me” and “get off of me.”

Burry ran up to the vehicle and commanded Vukel to let go of the driver, his girlfriend.

The girlfriend got out of the car and other troopers arrived and Vukel was arrested a second time.

The victim told police that after she picked up Vukel from the barracks, he began to yell at her and call her names. She told him she did not feel safe driving with him and told him she would turn around. He then threatened to “bust her in the face,” and punched her in the head and pushed her head into the steering wheel.

She placed the car in park and tried to get out, but Vukel held her down and prevented her from leaving. He continued to hit her in the face until the trooper showed up.