NORRISTOWN — An Upper Moreland Township man is heading to jail on domestic violence charges after he allegedly choked, beat and stabbed a woman during an argument inside the apartment they shared.
Darius Leonard Showers, 33, of the 3800 block of Blair Mill Road, pleaded guilty to felony charges of aggravated assault and strangulation in connection with a domestic violence incident that occurred at his home on Oct. 23, 2023, and was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to two to five years in a state correctional facility.
Judge William R. Carpenter, who accepted the plea agreement in the case, also ordered Showers to complete a domestic violence counseling program as a condition of his sentence.
The judge banned Showers from having any contact with the victim.
According to an arrest affidavit filed by Officer Vincent John Small of the Upper Moreland Police Department, the investigation began around 10:58 p.m. on Oct. 23 when Upper Moreland police responded to a report of “physical violence” between Showers and a woman at a home in the Blair Mill Village East Apartments.
Showers and the woman were in a romantic relationship at the time, according to court documents.
“While responding to the incident, dispatchers reported a female had been stabbed by a male,” Small wrote in the complaint, adding that arriving officers found Showers on the front porch of the home. “(The victim) had a stab wound near the left knee and multiple wounds to her face, neck and back.”
The woman was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment of her injuries.
During the investigation, the woman told police Showers returned to the apartment they shared from a bar in Warminster around 10 p.m., got into an argument with her and “pressed his hands around her neck” and repeatedly choked her, police wrote in the arrest warrant. The woman told police she was holding her young son at the time of the assault.
“(The victim) stated she had difficulty breathing when Showers applied pressure to her neck. She also stated Showers punched her in the face,” Small argued.
The woman reported that Showers threatened to kill her and told her he hated her while choking her, and that he was concerned for the safety and well-being of the child she was carrying at the time.
When the woman screamed for help, other relatives in the apartment intervened and Showers left the bedroom, but returned a short time later with two knives, according to the complaint.
“(The victim) stated Showers stabbed her in the left leg with one of the knives,” Small alleged, adding that the woman testified that her young son was in bed nearby at the time of the attack.
Police said the woman bit Showers on the palm of her hand during the assault.
Police found the woman had a stab wound to her left leg near the knee, as well as abrasions on her face, neck, left shoulder and lower back.
When police searched the bedroom where the assault occurred, they found two knives and bloodstains on the carpet and bed, according to court documents.
Showers pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and admitted using a deadly weapon to attempt to cause bodily injury to another person or to intentionally cause injury.
As part of the plea agreement, other charges against Showers were dismissed: simple assault, harassment, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats, possession of criminal tools and endangering the welfare of a child.
First published: July 26, 2024, 12:18 PM
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