Officers Assaulted In Separate Weekend Incidents In Butler Co.
BUTLER, Pa. (KDKA) -- Two people are facing multiple charges in separate weekend incidents in Butler County that led to police officers being assaulted.
The first incident began as a single-vehicle car crash just before 12:30 a.m. Sunday in the 100-block of Morton Avenue in Butler.
The criminal complaint reports the driver, identified as Asia Basham, smelled of alcohol, was slurring her speech and had red, glassy eyes.
Police say Bashham refused a breathalyzer test and kicked an officer while being put into a patrol car.
While at the police station, according to the criminal complaint, Basham slipped out of her handcuffs, threw them and punched an officer trying to get her back into custody. Police say she kicked that same officer after arriving at the prison.
Basham is charged with DUI, aggravated assault and resisting arrest.
Later Sunday morning, in a separate incident, police were called to Hickory Street in Butler just after 5:45 a.m. for a woman reporting that she was assaulted by her live-in boyfriend.
According to the criminal complaint, the woman told police she was sleeping on her sofa when her boyfriend, identified as Joshua Luchkiw, attacked her.
"I started asking him if he was going to leave or what he was going to do and he just grabbed a hold of me and started pushing me and punching me in the head," victim Emerald Adamik said.
She was able to get away to a neighbor's home where she called 911. She was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for pain to the left side of her head and jaw.
Police say the also saw scratches on her neck.
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Sunday afternoon, according to a criminal complaint, the same woman called police again to report that Luchkiw had returned to her house, parked his vehicle in the back and was sitting inside.
Officers responded just after 2:30 p.m.
"They caught him in my driveway, but when they tried taking him to the car, he started fighting with the police," Adamik said.
The criminal complaint reports police told him to calm down, but he screamed an expletive, grabbed one of the officers' jackets and tore it. He's also accused of kicking both responding officers before he was taken into custody.
Neither of the officers was severely injured, sustaining cuts, pain and swelling. But their cruiser was also dented in the incident.
Luchkiw is now facing charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and resisting arrest.
Stay with KDKA-TV for Bob Allen's full reports on these stories at 5 and 6 p.m.
