Assault

A Frederick, Md., man has been charged with breaking into his former girlfriend's Hagerstown home on Tuesday and pulling a knife on her, police said. Libni Hernandez, 18, of 1467 Key Parkway in Frederick, was charged with one count each of first-degree burglary, third-degree burglary, fourth-degree burglary, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, fourth-degree sex offense, malicious destruction of property and reckless endangerment, according to a Hagerstown Police Department news release.

A Chambersburg woman faces charges of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child after her 4-year-old stepson was injured in March, according to Chambersburg Borough Police. Michele Hunter, 26, of East Vine Street, is charged with one count each of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children. The boy's father, William M. Hunter Sr., 25, of 628 Barlow Ave., Deptford, N.J., is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, police said in a news release.

Police who responded to 55 S. Potomac Street Sunday afternoon to check on an individual found a male who appeared to have been assaulted, according to a Hagerstown Police Department spokesman. The victim, who police did not identify, was taken to Meritus Medical Center near Hagerstown, said Lt. Tom Langston. Police responded the scene at about 1 p.m. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police at 301-790-3700, ext. 234.

A Greencastle man who is accused of pointing a pistol at a woman and choking her in an Antrim Township home on Wednesday has been charged with aggravated assault, Pennsylvania State Police said. Dondi Lee Barhart, 53, also was charged with one count each of simple assault, terroristic threats, reckless endangering and harassment, according to a state police press release. The incident occurred at about 5 p.m. in a home in the 1900 block of Shinham Road, where Barhart allegedly pointed a pistol at the woman and put her in a choke hold, troopers said.

A man was charged with assault early Saturday after a brief standoff with police on East Baltimore Street in Hagerstown, according to a Hagerstown Police Department news release. Joshua Aaron Kershner, 30, address not provided, also was charged with false imprisonment, police said. Police said they were called Saturday at about 1:30 a.m. for a report of an assault at a residence in the first block of East Baltimore Street. When officers arrived, they discovered that Kershner and two other people were inside the home, but refused to answer the door, police said.

Hagerstown police said they are searching for three men who assaulted and robbed a man Thursday morning in an alley at the rear of 42 Broadway. The victim told police that three men pushed him to the ground at about 4:55 a.m. Thursday, then kicked and punched him before taking his backpack, according to a police department news release. Police said the backpack contained clothing, electronics and  medication. Anyone with information may call police at 301-790-3700, ext. 234.

A man accused of shooting a Martinsburg resident in June 2012 was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury seated in Berkeley County Circuit Court on counts of attempted murder and three other related charges. Desmond L. Davis, 23, of no fixed address, also was indicted on counts of malicious assault, wanton endangerment and unlawful shooting, according to an indictment released Tuesday by Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely's office. Davis was among 20 people indicted Tuesday by the grand jury, which is expected to reconvene today, according to Games-Neely's office.

A Waynesboro, Pa., businessman has been charged with stripping another man down to his underwear and assaulting him Wednesday in the back of a store on West Main Street, the Waynesboro Police Department said. Phillip Crawford, 39, of Waynesboro, was charged with aggravated assault, making terroristic threats and kidnapping, according to a police department news release. Police said they responded at 12:55 p.m. Wednesday to a disturbance at Crawford's business, Just Because, at 42 W. Main St. When officers arrived, Crawford told them that a man who was high on drugs attempted to steal from the store and ran out wearing only his underwear, the release said.

Two Hedgesville men pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to aiding and abetting the assault of a U.S. postal clerk on July 30, 2009, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. Brothers Jordan Tyler Kesecker and Justin Aaron Kesecker, who are free on bond pending sentencing, each face a maximum of eight years in prison after entering the plea, according to the news release from U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfield II Authorities alleged they aided and abetted in the assault with the intent to rob the clerk of $5,000, the  release said.

A Hagerstown man who jumped from a third-story Potomac Street window following a domestic incident on Aug. 5 has been charged by city police with assault, firearm and drug violations. Carlos Lamont Jackson, 37, of 41 1/2 S. Potomac Street, Apartment 3, was being held Friday at Washington County Detention Center on $350,000 bond, an official with the detention center said. Jackson is charged with second-degree assault, illegal possession of a regulated firearm, and possession of cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, according to court documents.

A Washington County Circuit Court judge Tuesday granted a continuance for a Myersville, Md., man who was shot several times by police last year during an incident at a park-and-ride lot near Boonsboro. James Jacob Jardina, 46, was charged with two counts each of first- and second-degree assault, use of a handgun in a crime of violence, possession of a stolen handgun and other offenses in the June 10, 2012, confrontation with police at the lot on Mapleville Road off Interstate 70. Jardina, wearing gray pants with no belt and a blue button-downed shirt, entered the courtroom Tuesday with the assistance of a walker.

A Martinsburg man accused of a violent attack in August 2012 that left a woman “unrecognizable” with multiple facial fractures faces a sentence of at least 15 years behind bars. Christopher C. Dawson, 23, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Berkeley County Circuit Court to six counts of malicious assault, three counts of domestic battery and entered an Alford plea to one count of second-degree sexual assault. Under an Alford plea, a defendant doesn't admit guilt, but acknowledges the prosecution has sufficient evidence to gain a conviction.

Another former correctional officer has entered a guilty plea to charges stemming from a 2008 inmate assault and subsequent cover-up at Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Federal officials said Jeremy McCusker pleaded guilty Thursday to assaulting the inmate and conspiring with other officers to cover up the assault. He is the sixth former RCI officer to enter a guilty plea in federal court. McCusker faces a statutory maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

A Hagerstown man is accused of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl and physically abusing two boys ages 8 and 11, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court documents. James Eugene Anderson III, 19, of 310 Jonathan St., was arraigned Friday by Magistrate Robert L. Lowe II on one felony count of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of battery, according to court documents. Anderson was being held Friday at Eastern Regional Jail on $250,000 bond, according to court and jail records.

A man accused of shooting a Martinsburg resident in June 2012 was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury seated in Berkeley County Circuit Court on counts of attempted murder and three other related charges. Desmond L. Davis, 23, of no fixed address, also was indicted on counts of malicious assault, wanton endangerment and unlawful shooting, according to an indictment released Tuesday by Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely's office. Davis was among 20 people indicted Tuesday by the grand jury, which is expected to reconvene today, according to Games-Neely's office.

Charged with breaking his infant son's leg, a Hagerstown man was sentenced to 14 months in jail after pleading guilty Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court to second-degree assault. Circuit Court Judge John H. McDowell sentenced 31-year-old Jerome Jackson, of 219 W. Howard St., to 10 years in prison, suspending all but 14 months to be served in the county detention center. In exchange for the plea, the state dismissed seven other charges, including first-degree child abuse resulting in severe physical injury, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years.

A Chambersburg man has been charged with aggravated assault and simple assault after a 6-month-old boy suffered bone fractures in both legs, his right arm and several ribs, Pennsylvania State Police said Tuesday. Dustin William Sipes, 21, of 357 Cosell Drive, was placed in the Franklin County Jail on $25,000 bond, state police said. It was determined that Sipes was a boyfriend of the child's mother and that Sipes was helping to care for the child, police said.

A Hagerstown man was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay more than $30,000 in restitution after pleading guilty Thursday in Washington County Circuit Court to assaulting another man. Matthew Edward West, 40, of 121 Southern Oak Drive, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in exchange for a charge of first-degree assault being dismissed. “I don't wish to see anybody do any jail time,” said James Nelson, the victim in the case. Nelson said he was more interested in West paying the restitution.

A Hagerstown man was in Washington County Detention Center on $650,000 bond Wednesday, charged with assaulting an ex-girlfriend five times, including twice on the same day. Timothy J. Gardner, 41, no fixed address, is charged with assaulting the woman three times in December and twice on March 29, court records said. In the Dec. 18 incident, the woman filed a private criminal complaint stating Gardner grabbed her and threw her to the ground, court records said. In the same complaint, the woman stated that Gardner put a choke hold on her during a Dec. 27 altercation and threatened her with a wooden rod on Dec. 28, the document said.

One of three men accused of passing counterfeit currency Monday has been charged with assaulting Maryland State Police troopers as they attempted to take him into custody in the parking lot of Premium Outlets, according to Washington County District Court records. Tyreik L. Gibson, 28, of Lansdowne, Pa., was charged by state police with three counts each of first- and second-degree assault, and one count each of second-degree assault on a law enforcement officer and malicious destruction of property of more than $500, court records said.