Man arrested for alleged assault of fiancee

From staff reports

A Cooperstown man wanted for the alleged aggravated assault of his fiancee was arrested Friday.

A criminal complaint filed through district judge Andrew Fish’s office said on Thursday, Franklin state police were sent to 125 Hillcrest Ave. in Cooperstown for a report of an assault.

Police arrived and met with a woman who related that for the past week, her fiance, Brian Ditzenberger, 45, had engaged in two physical altercations with her that resulted in injuries to her arms and knees.

In the first incident, Ditzenberger chased the woman into their living room and smashed a glass plate over her right arm. The incident caused severe lacerations, bruising and broken glass shards to remain in her arm, the complaint said.

The woman said the second incident occurred when Ditzenberger tackled her onto the floor and caused scrapes to her knees. Once she stood up, Ditzenberger struck both of her arms, which caused bruising, the complaint said.

In a related argument, Ditzenberger threatened to shoot the woman in the head, the complaint said.

Police photographed the woman’s injuries at the scene.

Ditzenberger is facing a felony count of aggravated assault and misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person, in addition to a summary count of harassment.

He was arraigned before Fish and placed in Venango County jail. Bail has been denied as Ditzenberger is considered a threat to society, according to online court documents.

A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday in Central Court.