A Wilkes-Barre man angry over an argument about child support picked up a wooden banister post and cracked his daughter’s mother in the back of the head, according to police.
Asnake A. Assefa, 29, of 120 N. Meade St., is charged with aggravated assault and simple assault in the incident Wednesday.
Wilkes-Barre police were called to Assefa’s home to a report of a domestic disturbance, and when officers arrived they found a neighbor saying the victim, Charlsey Kelly, was in her house bleeding from the back of the head, according to a police affidavit.
Kelly told police she had come to Assefa’s house to discuss child support and the conversation escalated into an argument. When the argument began to get violent, Kelly turned to leave and Assefa picked up the large, wooden rail, police said.
Assefa struck Kelly in the back of the head, and Kelly ran in fear to the neighbor’s home, according to police.
When the neighbor was on the phone with 911 dispatchers, she was asked if she could see Assefa. She looked out a back window and said she saw him carrying “a long wooden bloody object” into a newly built part of the home, according to the affidavit.
Police arrested Assefa and brought him to police headquarters for questioning. He told police he had been arguing with Kelly but that she had fallen and injured her head, according to police.
Magisterial District Judge Daniel O’Donnell arraigned Assefa on Wednesday evening and set his bail at $50,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May at 10 a.m.
Assefa was being held at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.
jhalpin@citizensvoice.com; 570-821-2058