Archbald man involved in high speed chase is jailed on domestic violence charges
Jun. 8—An Archbald man involved in a high-speed chase with police Friday is jailed on domestic violence charges stemming from an incident earlier in the day.
Robert Williams, 51, 131 Cemetery St., was in the Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail. Borough Officer Mark Striefsky filed a criminal complaint charging him with strangulation, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct.
While Williams has not been charged in connection to the pursuit, Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell confirmed he was involved. Powell said the investigation continues and officials are awaiting the completion of an accident reconstruction.
State police and several municipal police departments pursued Williams before he crashed into a state police vehicle on Interstate 84 around 11 p.m. His Hyundai rolled over, throwing him from the vehicle. One state trooper suffered minor injuries.
Earlier Friday, Striefsky was dispatched to Barrett's Pub, 474 N. Main St., after Williams's girlfriend, Amy Youshack, reported he had assaulted her.
They went to the restaurant to get something to eat but Williams became angry because she locked her cellphone and he couldn't get into it. They left and she tried to walk home with her son. Williams chased her. He choked her, lifted her up and threw her onto the sidewalk, police charged. She and her son ran back to the restaurant for safety. Williams continued to call her, saying he wanted to kill himself.
He said he would return to the restaurant so they could speak. The police were already with her. When his gray Hyundai Tuscon sped by, they gave chase.
Soon, neighboring departments and the state police were chasing him. Authorities managed to get Williams on the phone and they pleaded with him to stop and turn himself in.
The pursuit went through Archbald, Jermyn, Olyphant, Jessup, Throop, Dunmore, Scranton and back to Dunmore before Williams got onto I-84, where the chase ended near the Mount Cobb exit.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled Monday.
Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.
