A Scranton man cut a woman with a kitchen knife Saturday during an altercation in the city, police charge.
Officers responded to the 1300 block of Schlager Street around 5:54 p.m. for a report of a physical domestic incident between a man and woman, police said. Additionally, a county dispatcher informed officers the female caller reported an assault was occurring at the residence, according to a criminal complaint.
The woman told officers she got into an argument with Raymond St. John Moore when he asked her to take the braids out of her hair, and that he became angry when she wouldn’t comply and began yelling and cursing at her, police said.
Moore (Courtesy Lackawanna County Central Processing)
Moore followed the woman outside and continued screaming and yelling, officers said.
Then, when she went back inside, the argument became even more intense, police said.
Moore told the woman he was going to stab her, and then he grabbed a kitchen knife and followed her into the bedroom, according to the criminal complaint. Moore held the knife to her side, poking her and claiming he was going to kill her, officers said.
The woman — who suffered a cut to her torso — said Moore got on top of her and she struck him in self-defense to get away, police said.
When the woman ran to the kitchen to call police, Moore threw a glass candle at her, striking her in the head, according to the criminal complaint.
Moore fled the scene and was later apprehended by officers near North Main and Oram streets, police said.
Moore told police the incident began as a verbal argument before the woman started attacking him inside the residence, officers said. He then became uncooperative and refused to provide more information, according to the criminal complaint.
Police charged Moore, 49, with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, simple assault, terroristic threats and harassment.
As of Monday, Moore remained in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 30 at 9:45 a.m.