Carbondale man charged in assault
Apr. 26—A Carbondale man sprang from a closet in his ex-girlfriend's apartment Friday and grabbed her boyfriend by his throat, city police said Monday.
Brian Michael Jones, 29, 18 Lunny Court, is charged with simple assault, harassment and strangulation, Carbondale Patrolman William Wolfe wrote in a criminal complaint.
At about 6:14 p.m., Wolfe responded to the Summit Gardens housing complex after a man, Charles Williams, reported his girlfriend's former paramour just attacked him.
Williams' girlfriend, Lindsay Baker, told police Jones jumped out at Williams "in a rage" from her daughter's closet after they returned home earlier that evening. Williams told police Jones had his hands around his throat and pushed him up against a wall.
Baker had warned Jones before to stay away. She also previously went to the complex's management and informed them she did not want him on the property anymore, police said.
Williams fought off Jones and called 911. Jones gathered a video game console of his, attempted to grab a television and then fled, police said.
Later on Friday, police spoke with Jones, who said Baker invited him to her apartment earlier that day and said it had been Williams who had attacked him. Police took Jones into custody.
He was jailed in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $10,000 and has a preliminary hearing scheduled Monday.
Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.
