SMETHPORT — A Bradford man accused of assaulting his girlfriend and threatening to kill her entered a guilty plea Thursday in McKean County Court.
Chad E. Dowell, 34, of Bradford, pleaded guilty to charges of terroristic threats with a deadly weapon enhancement and simple assault, both misdemeanors.
The deadly weapon enhancement is added when an offender possesses or uses a dangerous device during a crime. The enhancement increases the sentence time.
According to District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer, on Sept. 17, Dowell threatened to kill his girlfriend with a knife and punched her in the face and body, causing substantial pain.
As part of the plea agreement, the most serious charges — felony charges of aggravated assault-circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life and kidnapping to inflict injury or terror — were dismissed.
Dowell will be sentenced Jan. 30. He is incarcerated in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Court records filed at the time of Dowell’s arrest stated that the victim ran away from him when he became angry during a fight, and he allegedly grabbed her by the hair, dragged her down the road by her hair and put her in his truck.
It was in his truck that he was punching her and pulled out the knife, the complaint indicated.
