Two women in the Ashland borough who reside next to each other were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after a brawl while shoveling last week.
Winter storms can be stressful. Particularly in northern hemisphere. States such as Pennsylvania are often hit with blasts that tend to be especially damaging. Icy cold piles of snow, slippery roads, and school closings are common. Shoveling snow to clear the way for actually being mobile can be stressful, too. Oftentimes, one has to wake up especially early in the morning, before the flurries stop, bundle up against the bitter cold and exert a fair amount of energy removing the white stuff, which takes a lot of work. But, it is really so stressful that clearing snow can lead to a brawl and criminal charges?
Back in 2014, in Union Township, Pennsylvania, the winter’s snow pushed one man over the edge. 64 year old Richard Eckert of Lawrence County was arrested and arraigned on several charges, eventually being released on $10,000 bond, after putting a gun to a snow plow driver’s head. Eckert apparently became so angry with Abraham after the driver’s shoveling job, the man took a .22-caliber pistol out of his coat and pressed it against Abraham’s cheek, forcing him to remove snow the driver had pushed from a neighbor’s drive into his own. According to statements, Eckert said, “You’re going to get a shovel and you’re shoveling that snow out of my yard and putting it back in the street.’
Abraham reported Eckert grabbed his arm and tried to pull him out of his truck before pressing the gun in his face. Luckily the man escaped unharmed. This wasn’t the first time Eckert had lost his temper, either. He had previously been charged with aggravated assault, terroristic threats, disorderly conduct, and recklessly endangering another person. He was a loaded gun, ready to fire, so to speak.
A similar story has recently surfaced, again in the state of Pennsylvania. Two women in the Ashland borough who reside next to each other were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after a heated brawl while shoveling last week. The women were found by state troopers pulling each other’s hair out after a physical brawl erupted over a parking spot, freshly shoveled and newly occupied, on a snowy street. The district had taken a hard hit with the winter blast.
Law enforcement officers stated that a 23 year old woman allegedly had worked to clear the spot only to have her 43 year old neighbor’s spouse back his pick up truck into it. The younger women was furious, inciting the brawl, which quickly escalated. Before long, both women were pushing and punching each other over the taken spot, trying to stake claim on the cleared area. They then began pulling at each other’s hair. The women were interviewed by responding officers and arrested on criminal charges. According to law enforcement, their citations for disorderly conduct are being mailed to them.
Needless to say, people tend to take their snow removal very seriously. Guess it’s best to stay clear while the snow is being cleared.
Sources:
Police: Man threatens Pa. snow plow driver with gun to face
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