Man Who Assaulted Cops During Montco Domestic Call Gets Prison Time

POTTSTOWN, PA — A borough man who assaulted police officers who were dispatched to a call for a domestic incident involving the defendant and his girlfriend earlier this year has been handed a state prison sentence, according to court records and media reports.

Ryan Anthony Fleming, 23, of Pottstown, received 2 to 4 years behind bars after he pleaded guilty to two felony counts and a misdemeanor charge in connection with an incident on Feb. 1 during which Fleming attacked officers who were sent to the girlfriend's East High Street apartment for a domestic call.

A report in the Mercury newspaper states that officers entered the apartment a little before 10 p.m. on Feb. 1 after the victim called to report that her boyfriend threatened to stab her with a pocketknife in response to her threatening to call the cops earlier in the evening after Fleming reportedly smashed the rear window of her car.

The story says that Fleming reportedly said he would fight cops who tried to arrest him, a promise that was apparently made good when the officers entered the apartment unit and Fleming balled up his fist and punched one of the responding officers in the jaw when the officer attempted to place Fleming in handcuffs.

Multiple other officers were also subsequently injured during the struggle to place Fleming into custody.

Court records show that Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Risa Vetri Ferman imposed sentence on Nov. 16 after Fleming entered guilty pleas to the three criminal charges.

Fleming was originally charged with a host of other counts, but those charges were dropped in exchange for the guilty pleas, according to the criminal docket sheet in the case.

Fleming ended up pleading guilty to charges of aggravated assault of a police officer while in the performance of duty, terroristic threats and intimidation of a witness.

The judge also ordered Fleming to undergo domestic violence counseling and to have no further contact with the victim, the court record shows.

Records show Fleming was also ordered to surrender his knife to authorities.

The Mercury story says that when officers finally subdued Fleming during the February incident, they located a spring-assisted pocketknife in his sweatshirt pocket.