Walnutport man charged with assault of girlfriend

Police have charged a Walnutport man with assaulting his girlfriend.

Michael Jones, 50, faces charges on strangulation, recklessly endangering another person, simple assault, and harassment.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by officer Jessica Edwards of the Lehigh Township Police Department:

At 5:50 p.m. Nov. 10, a man arrived at the township police station to report that Jones had assaulted a woman.

The man said that at 7:25 p.m. Nov. 9, he received a Facebook message from the victim containing a video of her being strangled, pushed to the ground and assaulted by Jones in the home.

Edwards viewed the video and determined the timestamp appeared to be from Nov. 7 at 7 a.m.

The video was recorded from a cellphone from inside the home and sent to the man via Facebook Messenger, who said the video came from the victim.

The victim appeared to be recorded from a camera system in the residence.

Edwards spoke with the victim’s sister, who had seen the video and identified Jones and the victim. She said the video was recent because it showed new dogs Jones and the victim acquired.

The victim’s sister also told Edwards that she has pictures from the victim of injuries from physical abuse caused by Jones.

One of the photos is timestamped Sept. 14 at 4:45 p.m. and shows a close-up of the victim’s face and two black eyes along with a bruise on her nose.

The man received messages from the victim at 3:03 p.m. Oct. 17 containing a recorded conversation with Jones, who was yelling and threatening her.

The victim then texted the man, “I can’t do this anymore I need to come home I’m not gonna be alive much longer if I don’t.”

Township police have responded several times to the residence for 911 calls over the past few months.

Jones is currently incarcerated in Northampton County Prison in lieu of $150,000 bail.

Jones is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. Wednesday before District Judge Robert A. Hawke of Walnutport.