Police say Arnold couple arrested, charged in drunken fight

An Arnold woman is accused of trying to strangle her boyfriend after a drunken argument they were having turned physical, according to authorities.

Moniekia D. Erdley, 37, of the 2000 block of Constitution Boulevard was charged with a felony count of strangulation along with counts of simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct.

Erdley was arrested Monday, May 29, and released from custody on a $5,000 unsecured bond. She faces a preliminary hearing June 6 before District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr.

Police charged Erdley’s boyfriend, Larry Karge Simmons, 39, of the same address, with a misdemeanor count of simple assault and a count of harassment.

Simmons was being detained in the Westmoreland County jail after a judge ruled he is a danger to Erdley and declined to set bail. He is scheduled to appear for a hearing before Pallone on June 15, according to court records.

An officer responding to a call for a domestic incident at the home shortly after 1:30 p.m. May 29 wrote in the couple’s arrest papers that he had previous encounters with them for verbal domestics involving alcohol.

Erdley, who appeared to be highly intoxicated and had a bruise on her face, told police that Simmons punched her during the argument and she wanted to press charges against him, according to her arrest papers.

Police said Simmons also was drunk when they found him near the intersection of Kenneth and Mohawk avenues a short time later, the complaint said.

He told police they were arguing when Erdley put her hands around his throat and began choking him to the point where it was difficult to breathe, police said. He said a necklace he was wearing broke off while Erdley tried to strangle him, the complaint said.

Simmons said Erdley fell to the ground when he pushed her off him, the complaint said.