Gilpin man ordered to trial on charge of strangling woman during argument

A Gilpin man accused of assaulting and strangling a woman during an argument has been ordered to stand trial in Armstrong County Court.

Southern Armstrong County Police charged Matthew Lockhart, 41, of the 100 block of Zachar Lane with a felony count of strangulation and counts of simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment after officers were dispatched to his home for a domestic dispute June 14, according to a criminal complaint.

Lockhart was detained in the Armstrong County Jail until June 28 when a Pittsburgh bail agency posted a $10,000 bond on his behalf.

He did not appear for a Sept. 21 preliminary hearing before District Judge James Andring, who ordered the case moved to Armstrong County Court for trial, court records show.

Police who responded to the incident wrote in a criminal complaint that during an argument with a woman at his home he began throwing and breaking items so she went to a bedroom to get away from him, the complaint said.

Lockhart is accused of breaking through the door and holding the woman against a wall by placing his forearm against her throat until she was unable to breathe, according to the complaint.

A third person who was in the home pulled Lockhart off the woman and forced him to leave the house, police said.