Crime & Safety

City Man Accused of Assaulting Girlfriend on Township Canal Path

Police: Torres chased her down twice and threw her to the ground.

A Bethlehem man is accused of assaulting his girlfriend Wednesday evening on the canal path in Bethlehem Township.

According to court records, Roberto Torres, 22, of 640 Hamilton Ave., chased after his 18-year-old girlfriend on the path at Farmersville Road and Wilson Avenue, caught her, grabbed her by her throat and threw her to the ground.

After she got up and tried to run away, he chased after her again and again threw her to the ground, according to the arrest warrant.

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Then, court papers say, he tried to rip a speed limit sign out of the ground, which he told his girlfriend he would beat her with.
It was at this point, that friends of the woman on the scene pulled her away and brought her to the township police headquarters. All of it unfolded at about 5:30 p.m.

The woman suffered bruises and bleeding scratches to her right shoulder and elbow and a bleeding laceration to the inside of her left cheek, according to court records.

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Torres told township police that he had taken a Xanax earlier in the day and it made him β€œout of control.”

Torres was charged with simple assault, harassment and criminal mischief and committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $25,000 bail, following his preliminary arraignment in front of District Justice Nancy Matos-Gonzalez.


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