Police: Old Forge man burglarized Wayne County home, assaulted homeowner
An Old Forge man was charged with attacking a man in his Wayne County home and throwing a vacuum cleaner through a kitchen window.
State police Trooper Ryan Joyce charged Curtis A. Strunk, 42, with multiple counts of felony aggravated assault and burglary, and a single count of felony criminal trespassing and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault.
Troopers and paramedics responded to the Lehigh Twp. home during the early morning hours April 30 for a reported burglary in progress. They arrived to find the victim covered in blood, slipping in and out of consciousness, Joyce wrote in a criminal complaint.
Authorities did not identify the victim, who was taken to Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton.
During a search, Joyce found blood inside and outside the home and items strewn about the kitchen. The victim's daughter's boyfriend, who was in the home at the time, told troopers he was asleep when he heard a bang and came downstairs to find the victim covered in blood with lacerations on his head, according to the complaint. The victim's family members also told police two people exited the residence and threw a vacuum cleaner through the kitchen window. The boyfriend added he saw the front door forced open and two men on the street outside yelling.
The victim's son told troopers he found two men, one of them on top of the victim, punching him. The victim grabbed a metal chair to defend himself and eventually got both men out of the house, according to the complaint. He then saw a vacuum come through the kitchen window.
In an interview at the hospital, the victim told troopers he awoke to the sound of his dog barking and when he went downstairs, saw two men enter his residence, who then assaulted him, according to the complaint. The victim and his son forced the two men outside and the fighting continued, the complaint said.
One of the responding troopers said in the complaint he had seen one of the men involved in the incident, Thomas Hermann, at a Citgo gas station in the township the day before the incident, and video surveillance footage from the store confirmed he was there. The victim later identified Strunk from a Facebook profile picture.
Hermann was taken into custody May 1 and placed himself at the scene during an interview with troopers. He told them Tuesday he and Strunk arrived at the home on April 30, with Strunk kicking in the front door and assaulting the victim with a chair. Hermann also told troopers Strunk threw the vacuum cleaner through the window.
The victim's relatives informed troopers they believed the incident began earlier at the Ariel View Inn when the victim took the apparel off one of the men involved in the burglary, threw the clothing on the ground and said 'someone should get a black eye.'
Joyce also charged Strunk with two counts of simple assault, harassment and criminal mischief.
Magisterial District Judge Bonnie Carney arraigned him on the charges Wednesday and set bail at $100,000, which he was unable to post. Strunk was taken to the Wayne County Correctional Facility, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
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