Upon investigating a domestic disturbance in Lewis Township on the afternoon of Feb. 28, state troopers saw that the female victim was “covered in mud with thorns stuck in her clothing,” and there were “fresh bruises on her left hand knuckles,” it was stated in an affidavit. The woman said she had “to run through the woods” to get away from Robert Diton Brown out of “fear that he was going to hurt her” while the two argued in his home at 8998 Lycoming Creek Road, the court document stated. The troopers noted that the victim’s left big toe was bandaged. She told police that her fractured toe and the bruises on her hand were from a domestic disturbance with the 37-year-old Brown that took place on Feb. 25, but she did not report it when it happened for fear that Brown would retaliate. It was alleged Brown “smashed” her cellphone the night before, police said. Arraigned before District Judge William Solomon on charges of simple assault, criminal mischief and harassment, Brown was initially jailed, but has since been released on $25,000 bail after waiving his preliminary hearing.

In another domestic disturbance, after grabbing the woman and slamming her on top of a bed, Seneca Martin Mitchell Sr. “got on top of her and with both hands, squeezed her neck, impeding her breathing, causing her vision to go black,” state police alleged in an affidavit. This alleged assault occurred at the woman’s Northway Road Extension home in Loyalsock Township back on Sept. 22, but it was not reported to law enforcement until last month, according to an affidavit. In the same interview with police, the victim reported that on Oct. 30, Mitchell, 43, of 93 Round Hill Road, pulled her down, resulting in her striking her neck and head on a set of stairs and again “did strangle and assault her,” it was alleged.

Mitchell was recently held for count on charges of felony strangulation, simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment following a preliminary hearing before Solomon and he remains in the Lycoming County Prison in lieu of $35,000 bail in this case. Mitchell will also face further court action on state police felony charges of burglary and trespassing for allegedly forcing his way into the same woman’s home on Jan. 13, demanding to know the whereabouts of his dead cat, police alleged in yet another affidavit. Mitchell fled the property after the woman told him that the feline had been buried in the yard. Bail set in this case was $25,000 bail.

In a third case, following a preliminary hearing before District Judge Aaron Biichle, Cody Davis Johnson was held for court on city police charges of simple assault, criminal mischief and harassment that stem from a domestic disturbance in the 500 block of Brandon Place on Feb.. 12 that left a woman “bleeding from her nose and lips” as well as “redness on her face and slight discoloration on her cheeks,” it was alleged in an affidavit. Johnson, 40, of 1416 Bloomingrove Road, remained locked up in the county prison in lieu of $15,000 bail.