An Oil City man is facing a felony count of aggravated assault after he allegedly pushed a woman out of a moving vehicle Sunday.
A criminal complaint filed through district judge Andrew Fish’s office said patrolman Jonathan Byham of the Oil City police department was traveling on North Seneca Street at about 2:35 a.m. Sunday when he encountered a woman standing in the road waving her arms.
Byham noticed she was covered in blood and was very emotional as he approached her, the complaint said.
The woman was placed in the back of the police cruiser and she told Byham that she was in a vehicle with 48-year-old Steven Spence when he grabbed her by the throat, began to choke her, pulled her to the front seat and pushed her out of the moving vehicle, the complaint said.
The woman told Byham she laid in the road for a while before she was able to get up and get help shortly after she was found, the complaint said.
She had noticeable cuts on her body and a laceration to the back of her head, the complaint said.
Charges filed against Spence include a first-degree felony count of aggravated assault, a misdemeanor count of simple assault, a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct and a summary count of harassment.
Spence was arraigned Sunday before Fish and placed in the Venango County jail.
Fish denied Spence’s bail, citing that he is a threat to the woman and to society.
A preliminary hearing in the case has been tentatively scheduled for Dec. 21 in Central Court.
