SUNBURY - A Mount Carmel teen charged with assaulting his girlfriend and punching her puppy in December pleaded guilty Monday morning to simple assault and harassment.
Tyler Michael Wondoloski, 19, of 802 W. Fifth St., entered the plea before Northumberland County Judge William H. Wiest and will be sentenced within 90 days.
An additional charge of cruelty to animals will not be prosecuted at sentencing.
Wondoloski, who was among five teens injured in March 2012 in a DUI-related accident near Mount Carmel Area Elementary School, is accused by Mount Carmel Cpl. Christopher Buhay with hitting, pushing and throwing around his girlfriend, Theresa Freeman, causing her head to strike a wall at her aunt's home at 221 S. Oak St. at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 5. Police said Freeman suffered red marks and swelling around the front of her neck.
Freeman told police Wondoloski also removed a puppy from her arms and began punching it before throwing the dog across the room. Police said the puppy wasn't seriously injured.
The defendant was found riding a bicycle near Mount Carmel Area High School and taken into custody after the alleged assault. He denied doing anything wrong and claimed Freeman assaulted him.
Wondoloski suffered broken vertebrae in his back and possibly torn muscles as a result of the March 28, 2012, accident in Beaverdale. He and three other victims in the accident have sued Victor E. Swaboski III, 39, of Mount Carmel, who was charged by Mount Carmel Township police with multiple DUI-related charges, and Brewser's SportsGrille in Coal Township, where Swaboski was a patron on the night of the accident. The civil suits claim negligence against Swaboski and the restaurant and seek monetary rewards.