Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan
announced Monday the arrests of two men in separate domestic assault cases.
Ernest Manerchia, 57, of West Chester, is a
police officer in the City of Chester, Delaware County, and a member of the
SWAT team. According to the DA, on the evening of Jan. 11, Manerchia slapped
his wife and began to strangle her before she broke free and hid in the
bathroom.
Manerchia was arrested by Pennsylvania State
Police and charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and related charges.
Bail was originally set at $7,500 and Manerchia was ordered to surrender all
firearms and stay away from the residence.
Manerchia posted bail and surrendered 45 firearms to PSP.
However, PSP subsequently discovered that Manerchia had covertly maintained
possession of multiple firearms and had returned to the residence to confront
[his wife].
His bail was then raised to $350,000 cash, and
he was remanded to Chester County Prison.
"These arrests were excellent work under
difficult circumstances by the West Goshen Police Department and the
Pennsylvania State Police," Hogan said in a press release. "Domestic
violence cases can accelerate from arguments to homicides in the blink of an
eye."
Franklin County, Virginia: The sheriff’s deputy who publicly
fatally shot and killed his ex-wife pleaded no contest to first-degree murder.
He arrived at the scene in the in a police cruiser, and prosecutors say the
shooting was captured on the dashboard camera. ow.ly/gNGj7
Los Angeles, California: A Los Angeles County Captain will resign amid allegations by a deputy who says she was a victim of sexual misconduct. He denies the allegations. ow.ly/gNeBU
Harrison County, Missouri: A Sheriff’s Department deputy was
arrested on charges of aggravated assault after being accused of choking his
wife. He was dressed in his uniform and duty belt at the time of the assault
and pointed his service weapon at her before leaving the scene of the assault,
according to the release. http://ow.ly/gNfOf
Washington, DC: A woman filed a $6 million civil lawsuit
against a D.C. police officer and the D.C. government. Her lawyer filed the
suit claiming an officer raped her on several occasions. http://ow.ly/gK29v