SMETHPORT — A Bradford man was sentenced to 7 ½ to 15 years in state prison Thursday in McKean County Court for severely beating a woman for “disrespecting him.”
Armando Aponte, 41, will serve 90 to 180 months in state prison and two years of consecutive probation and pay restitution for medical expenses due to the assault. He had pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault — extreme indifference and terroristic threats for a domestic altercation on Jan. 25, 2022.
According to the criminal complaint, Bradford City Police were dispatched to Bradford Regional Medical Center for a victim of an assault. The victim said she was at home at Kiwanis Court when her boyfriend, Aponte, came home. She had a friend over, and the friend brought her 20-year-old nephew. When the pair left, Aponte told the victim she was being too friendly to the male. He slapped her and told her, “(Expletive) what did I tell you about disrespect,” the complaint alleged.
Aponte then punched her in the face and head and grabbed her by the neck with both of his hands and lifted her off the couch, and squeezed her neck until she couldn’t breathe and fell into unconsciousness. She woke up on the floor and was able to crawl back onto the couch, where she tried to speak to Aponte. He grabbed her by the face and said, “did I tell you to speak (expletive)?” He sat on her and held her arms down. She told Aponte she needed to get up and call 9-1-1. He responded “you ain’t calling nobody.” He told her that if she told anyone about it, he would kill her, the complaint stated.
About 15 minutes later, a friend of the victim’s stopped by the residence. Aponte made her keep her head down so she was unable to ask the friend for help. She was eventually able to get to her cellphone and call her mother to come take her to the hospital. From BRMC she was taken to UPMC Hamot in Erie, where she was diagnosed with a brain bleed, a broken jaw, a broken nose, swelling and bruising to her left wrist, bruising on her neck and blurred vision, the complaint stated.
Bradford Officer Kolin Strawcutter investigated the case.
District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer said, “Victims of domestic violence are encouraged to call 911 and the YWCA, who can provide services to victims.”
