Man jumps onto moving car, punches woman in face, cops say

Last updated: November 18, 2014 - 3:00pm


NESCOPECK -- A man jumped onto a moving car and hit his ex-girlfriend in the face in front of the elementary school the morning after they broke up, court papers say. Russell T.C. Escobar hung onto the car and punched passenger Nicole Pavlichko, then let go, landed in the street, stood right up and walked away, charges say. Pavlichko told police she and Escobar had been together about four years, but decided the night before to stop seeing each other. She told Escobar, 24, to get his belongings out of her Fourth Street home by morning, records say, and she spent the night at the home of Andrew Fritz.Caught on cameraHere's what happened about 8 the next morning, according to Nescopeck Officer Michael Eyer. Fritz and Pavlichko were dropping off her child at Nescopeck Elementary School when Escobar came running around the corner onto Dewey Street toward the car. Fritz was starting to pull away slowly when Escobar leaped onto the car, hit Pavlichko and threatened to kill both of them. Escobar -- 5 feet 8 inches tall, 145 pounds -- held on until Fritz had turned down Fourth Street, then let go. Pavlichko estimated he was on the car for 10 seconds. At the school, two teachers saw the incident, and they told police Escobar was yelling obscenities as he ran up to the car and jumped on it. Surveillance video from the school showed Escobar leap onto the car, then let go and land in the middle of Fourth Street.Claims self-defenseAs Pavlichko was telling Eyer what happened, the officer got a call about a man hit by a car on Fourth Street. That would be Escobar, Pavlichko told him. Eyer found the suspect with minor scrapes on his leg and arm. An ambulance crew treated him, and he refused further attention. Escobar's story was that he wanted to talk to Pavlichko about their breakup, and he didn't want any trouble. But as he walked toward the car, Fritz tried to run over him, so Escobar had to jump onto the vehicle to save himself, he claimed. He also alleged Fritz tried to run into another vehicle in order to hurt him. The surveillance video showed no such thing, court papers say. When Eyer was talking to Pavlichko, however, he saw redness on her face and the beginning of swelling around her eye and cheek. Escobar, who lists an address in Blakeslee, was charged with terroristic threats against both Pavlichko and Fritz, simple assault on Pavlichko, as well as harassment and disorderly conduct. He faces a separate charge for hanging onto Fritz's vehicle. The incident happened Sept. 16. Escobar faces a hearing Dec. 10 before District Judge John Hasay, Shickshinny.

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