A Falls Township man is free on $50,000 unsecured bail after being accused of attacking his girlfriend following an argument which police say was over a cell phone.
Friday morning allegedly turned sour for Edward Dayton, 24, and his ex-girlfriend after he took her cell phone and they began arguing around 4 a.m. During the argument, Dayton would not let the woman leave an apartment after she tried several times, police said.
Advertisements
Dayton threw his ex-girlfriend to the ground multiple times and twisted and pulled on her skin, according to the woman’s account. The 24-year-old is also accused of punching her and tried to make her swallow her cell phone because she would not stop screaming.
Dayton’s ex-girlfriend was able to call 9-1-1 but the call was terminated by the Falls Township man, police said. He also reportedly hung up when the dispatch center called back.
“[The victim] stated that in an attempt to get away and protect herself from Dayton that she struck Dayton with a frying pan on the head,” court papers filed by police read.
Advertisements
After Dayton took the frying pan from her, he then began hitting himself in the head with it and punching himself, the ex told police. He also told her he was going to tell police she beat him up, court papers say.
The ex-girlfriend said she also fought back by kicking Dayton and kicking him in the groin, police said.
Advertisements
Officers arrived around 6:19 a.m. to Timber Lane in the Langhorne section of Middletown and found Dayton’s ex-girlfriend “visibly upset, trembling and crying,” police said. An officer noted in court papers that he observed scrapes and swelling on her neck and arms in addition to bloody lips.
Dayton’s ex-girlfriend tried to minimize what happened and said she didn’t want to press charges at first because Dayton is the father of her daughter, police said.
Dayton was charged with simple assault, terroristic threats, unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment and false imprisonment.
Advertisements
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
