New Kensington woman sentenced for assault on grandmother

A New Kensington woman was ordered to serve one year on house arrest for the assault of her 83-year-old grandmother last year in Lower Burrell.

Nicole Patricia Smith, 29, pleaded guilty in October to aggravated and simple assault in connection to a violent confrontation as the older woman cared for three young children on Oct. 11, 2024.

Police said Smith became upset and verbally abusive while helping with a child’s homework when her grandmother confronted her about that behavior. According to court documents, Smith was asked to leave the home and continued to yell as she was escorted outside when she was sprayed with water from a bottle.

Authorities said Smith picked up her grandmother and slammed her to the pavement. The victim sustained a broken hip as a result of the assault, police said.

The grandmother, Patricia Smith, who continues to care for her granddaughter’s three older children, pleaded with the judge during Friday’s hearing not to impose a sentence that included incarceration.

“I don’t want her to go to jail. She just needs help, and house arrest would be fine with me,” Patricia Smith testified. She told the judge she was receptive to undergo counseling with her granddaughter.

Her granddaughter, Nicole Smith, who is free on bail and still has custody of a 5-month-old child, told the judge she acted in self-defense.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio said she was critical of Nicole Smith’s self-defense argument, but swayed by the victim’s testimony and the prosecution’s consent to a house arrest sentence.

The judge also ordered Smith to serve three years on probation. She said she would consider reducing the house arrest portion of the sentence to six months based on reports from a counselor.

Smith previously served nearly three months in jail following her arrest.

“You let your emotions get to you, and now she’s got a broken hip and (caring for) three children,” Bilik-DeFazio said. “She asked for counseling between she and you, and I think that is absolutely necessary.”

According to court records, Nicole Smith’s criminal record dates back to 2015. It includes convictions for crimes such as drunk driving, drugs, child endangerment and harassment.

In 2022, she was convicted of drunk driving and fleeing from police and sentenced to serve three to 23 months in jail, according to court dockets.