by peter e. bortner
David R. Cipko assaulted his ex-girlfriend last August in her Tamaqua home but did not break into the building to do it, a Schuylkill County jury ruled Wednesday.
After deliberating a little more than an hour, the jury of six men and six women ruled Cipko, 36, of Tamaqua, was guilty of two counts of simple assault and one of recklessly endangering another person but not guilty of one count each of burglary, aggravated assault, criminal trespass, terroristic threats and false imprisonment.
Cipko, who represented himself, did not react when the jury pronounced its verdict.
Judge James P. Goodman, who presided over the two-day trial, scheduled Cipko's sentencing for 11:15 a.m. March 19. He continued Cipko's $25,000 straight cash bail, but the defendant did not post it and returned to prison in handcuffs following the verdict.
Tamaqua police alleged that Cipko beat Shannon Quinn with a tree limb about 8 p.m. Aug. 15 in her 336 Lincoln St. residence.
"When I walked into the room ... the attic door flew open. I was hit over the head," Quinn testified on Tuesday.
"Are you in a lot of pain?" Assistant District Attorney Robert E. Matta asked her.
"Yes," she answered.
"Are you bleeding?"
"Yes. I screamed and fell to the floor."
Quinn, who identified Cipko as her assailant, said she tried to flee out a window but Cipko dragged her back into the house.
On Tuesday, Cipko testified he and Quinn had spent the night before the incident together and that he was always welcome in her residence.
"I was led to believe we were still going out," he said.
Cipko said Quinn had pointed a gun at him and he hit her in self-defense.
"I was confused. I was scared," he said. "I was basically read the riot act by police when they entered. I'm not some kind of demonic sicko."
Cipko denied threatening to slit Quinn's throat and throw her in a stripping pit.
In his closing argument, Cipko said Quinn repeatedly lied on the witness stand.
"This has been a hyped-up case of pomp and circumstance," he said. "She was my girlfriend at the time. She told you a story of convenience."
In his closing argument, Matta said photographs prove Quinn was hit on the back of her head, something that would not have occurred if Cipko had hit her in self-defense while she pointed a gun at him.
"There's no evidence of any gun. It's a fabrication," he said.
Quinn was the victim of a man who was unwilling to let her go when she wanted to break up with him, Matta said.
"Cipko was waiting for her. He's a little bit unhappy," he said. "I'll argue to you that he's a little bit jealous ... a little bit obsessed." Defendant: David R. Cipko
Age: 36
Residence: Tamaqua
Verdict: Guilty of two counts of simple assault and one of recklessly endangering another person, not guilty of one count each of burglary, aggravated assault, criminal trespass, terroristic threats and false imprisonment