NORRISTOWN — A Douglass Township, Montgomery County, man who assaulted a woman and threatened her with a loaded handgun during a domestic-related incident at the New Hanover Township residence where he previously resided will spend several years in prison.
Steven August Beaulac, 30, of the 1100 block of Mega Lane, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 5 to 10 years in a state correctional facility in connection with the April 23, 2023, domestic assault of a woman that occurred at his previous residence in the 1700 block of Swamp Pike in New Hanover.
Judge Wendy G. Rothstein said Beaulac will receive credit for the time he spent in jail since his arrest and while awaiting trial.
The judge recommended that Beaulac be housed at the State Correctional Institution at Chester in Delaware County, which offers drug and alcohol treatment programs for offenders.
During a two-day trial in January, a jury convicted Beaulac of charges of simple assault and found that he possessed, used or controlled a loaded firearm during the incident. The jury acquitted Beaulac of a charge of unlawful restraint.
Following the jury’s verdict, Rothstein, who presided over the trial, also convicted Beaulac of a felony charge of person not to possess a firearm as well as a summary charge of harassment.
Assistant District Attorney Bradley Walter Deckel prosecuted the case. Defense lawyer Danton Moyer represented Beaulac during the court proceedings.
An investigation began at about 12:26 a.m. April 23, 2023, when New Hanover police responded to the Swamp Pike residence for a report of “a physical domestic disturbance,” according to the criminal complaint filed by New Hanover Police Officer Colin Lawlor.
Police encountered an emotional woman who was “crying and bleeding from the nose,” according to court papers.
“I asked how she sustained the injury to her nose and she stated Steven punched her,” Lawlor wrote in the arrest affidavit, adding the woman also reported the back of her head was sore after Beaulac “slammed her head to the ground” during the assault.
Emergency medical officials responded to the residence to evaluate the victim.
The woman reported that she and Beaulac had been drinking alcohol earlier in the night at the home they shared when they began to argue. The woman initially left the residence for several hours to let tensions cool but when she returned Beaulac was waiting for her on the porch of the home, Lawlor alleged.
Beaulac grabbed the woman by the back of the neck and pushed her into a corner at which time the woman threatened to call 911.
“Steven responded by drawing a handgun he had been carrying concealed in his waistband. He pointed the gun at (the victim) and racked the slide, which chambered a round, and made a statement along the lines of ‘go ahead,’” Lawlor alleged.
The woman attempted to get inside the residence by pushing Beaulac, who responded by punching the woman in the face with a closed fist, causing the injury to her nose, according to the arrest affidavit.
A physical altercation carried over into the kitchen of the home during which Beaulac fell backward into a storm door, shattering the glass, police said.
“Steven pushed (the victim) to the ground and slammed her head into the floor causing the injury to the back of her head,” Lawlor alleged, adding the woman eventually managed to get away from Beaulac and call 911 for help.
When police encountered Beaulac outside the residence they observed he had glassy and bloodshot eyes and an odor of alcohol on his breath. Beaulac admitted that a physical altercation occurred but denied striking the woman and also denied possessing a firearm during the incident.
However, Beaulac allegedly told police “that he was a person not to possess due to a prior felony conviction,” according to the criminal complaint. Police alleged a records check determined Beaulac had a previous burglary conviction. Court records indicate that the conviction was in Berks County.
The firearm Beaulac brandished during the domestic disturbance was subsequently found by police on a neighbor’s porch, according to the arrest affidavit.
“It was found to be loaded and had a round in the chamber,” Lawlor wrote in the criminal complaint.
Charges of recklessly endangering another person, false imprisonment and firearms carried without a license previously were dismissed against Beaulac.
Source: Berkshire mont