Hampton man charged with beating up woman, holding her hostage in his house

A Hampton man is accused of beating up a woman and holding her hostage in his home Sept. 24, according to a criminal complaint.

Police arrested Gabriel Tamilia, 48, at his Clearview Road home after two neighbors called 911, and the woman accused him of assaulting her.

Tamilia was released from the Allegheny County Jail on $10,000 bond after arraignment. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

The woman told police Tamilia is her ex-boyfriend. They were not dating at the time of the alleged assault.

Police said the woman had previously taken out a protection-from-abuse order against Tamilia, but that order had been dropped.

The woman told police she and Tamilia went out to dinner as friends and got into an argument after Tamilia asked her if she was on any dating sites. The pair left the restaurant, and the woman drove them back to Tamilia’s house.

Once parked in the driveway, Tamilia punched her in the face, put her in a headlock and threatened to kill her. He also began to choke her by wrapping a seatbelt around her neck. She said she screamed and hit the car horn in an attempt to get help, the complaint said.

The woman said Tamilia dragged her by her hair from the vehicle and into the house as she continued to scream for help. He took her to a downstairs bathroom and told her he was keeping her there, according to the complaint.

Hampton police were called to the home shortly before 8 p.m.

Detective Robert Grondwalski said police attempted to make contact with the pair by calling phone numbers listed for them and by knocking on the front door for several minutes. They got no response.

The woman said Tamilia has surveillance cameras at his house and was watching the police from his cellphone. She told police he put his hands over her mouth to prevent her from screaming, but she was able to bite his fingers to allow her to scream for help.

Grondwalski said another officer said he could hear a woman’s screams coming from inside the house. Officers broke down the front door and found the pair in the basement. The woman was crying and told police Tamilia tried to kill her, according to the complaint.

Police said the woman had an abrasion on her neck and was holding a clump of hair in her hand. There was a large bald spot on top of her head, which was bleeding. Her lips were swollen and purple, and there was bruising to her left wrist.

Police took Tamilia into custody. He requested to speak with a lawyer before answering any questions. The woman was taken to UPMC Passavant for treatment.

Tamilia is charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment, strangulation, false imprisonment and harassment. A preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 7 before Magisterial District Judge Tom Swan in West Deer.