Crime & Safety
Man Threatens to Slash Throats of Woman and Child, Police Say
His texts and phone calls to Lower Macungie mom threatened to destroy her home if she did not return to the residence with the child, troopers report.
A man threatened to slash the throats of a Lower Macungie Township woman and her child recently, then threatened to destroy her house if she didn't return to the residence with that child, according to court documents.
Matthew Christopher Hoffman, 21, whose address police did not know but was shown as Alburtis in court documents, was being held in Lehigh County Prison under $200,000 bail, according to court records. He was charged with making terroristic threats, criminal trespass, harassment and criminal mischief.
The Affidavit of Probable Cause in the case related the following events: The unnamed victim told state police at Fogelsville that she received a telephone call from Hoffman that he was on his way to her 7383 Hillcrest Drive home to slit the throats of her and her child. The victim took the child and fled the home.
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Meanwhile, she called police to report an unwanted man at the home.
Police arrived about 10:55 a.m. Feb. 22 to find a broken window next to the front door and one next to the back entryway. The trooper believed that someone attempted to enter the home but was unsuccessful.
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The trooper found a neighbor outside who said that a man had been screaming outside the victim's home. That man left in a dark colored sport-utility vehicle about five minutes before the trooper's arrival. The description given by the neighbor of the man and his vehicle were similar to that of Hoffman.
Hoffman had continued to contact the victim when he found she was not at home. He threatened to destroy her house if she did not return to the address with the child.
The victim stalled Hoffman, saying she would return. When she did not do so promptly, Hoffman repeatedly sent texts and called her phone.
Police did not say how or when Hoffman was arrested. They also did not say how Hoffman and the 20-year-old woman knew each other or what the dispute was about.
All charges were waived to Lehigh County Court in a March 1 preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Donna Butler of Emmaus, court records show.