Solar panel installer is charged with beating, robbing customer

A preliminary hearing has been continued for a Berks County man who has been charged with beating a customer while installing panels on his home.

Matthew Eschleman, 36, of Maidencreek Township, faces assault charges for his part in the incident.

According to the affidavit filed by Detective Timothy Wagner of the Slatington Borough Police Department:

On Jan. 24, Slatington Police were called to the victim’s home for a disturbance and found the victim on his sofa, bleeding and looking as if he was in a fight.

The officers spoke to the victim, who said that he did not know what happened, and refused help at that time.

The next day, the victim filed a report with the police for an assault and theft from his home, but was still unsure what happened to him.

The victim has Ring video surveillance in his home, which records audio and video files that he reviewed to see what happened to him.

The victim had Trinity Solar installing panels on his home, with three workers at the home for the install.

During the day the victim was home and had been drinking. The workers for Trinity Solar were also consuming alcohol, which went on for most of the day.

At 9:10 p.m. the video shows the workers pulling the victim on the floor from the kitchen into the living room. The victim and Eschleman were intoxicated.

The victim was on the floor while Eschleman and another employee, Corey Rowley, threw the victim on the sofa. Between 10:10 and 10:45 p.m. the victim was assaulted multiple times by Eschleman, including being punched and kicked. For over 30 minutes, Eschleman was screaming and stating that he was going to kill the victim. The entire assault was captured on audio and video recording.

Several times, the other two employees tried to intervene and stop Eschleman from the attacks. The victim had broken ribs, a head injury and an injury to his right foot.

At 10:51 p.m. the recording ended and shows the victim still lying on the floor of his living room bleeding as the three employees leave and drive back to the main office in Reading.

At around noon, an employee called Lehigh County 911 from Reading and reported a disturbance at the house in Slatington. The call was placed over an hour after the assault, and the employee was not truthful with 911 on what took place at the residence.

The victim reported that around $600 in tools were also taken from his basement, and believed that the employees of Trinity Solar had taken the tools.

The manager of Trinity Solar contacted police and offered to help.

On Jan. 29, Wagner went to Trinity Solar and met with the manager, who signed consent for a search of the work van. Police recovered all the stolen tools except a battery valued at $20.

An employee later told police that Eschleman took the tools from the home, and said that Eschleman showed him the tools at the back of the van.

Eschleman was charged with of aggravated assault; simple assault; harassment; theft by unlawful taking; receiving stolen property; terroristic threats

He remains in the Lehigh County Jail in lieu of $50,000 straight bail, and is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing April 7 at the Lehigh County Courthouse in Allentown.