Police: Tarentum man strangled woman, set clothes on fire

A Tarentum man is accused of strangling a woman and setting a fire in their apartment late Monday.

Borough police charged Othniel Lavelle Lineburg II, 34, with strangulation and causing or risking a catastrophe, both felony offenses, along with a misdemeanor count of simple assault and summary charges of harassment, arson and criminal mischief.

A criminal complaint filed against Lineburg said Tarentum police responded to a reported domestic dispute at an apartment in the 300 block of Fourth Avenue shortly before midnight. Witnesses said they saw a man, identified as Lineburg, grab a woman by the throat, choke her and drag her up to a third-floor apartment, the complaint said.

Police said they were not able to immediately get inside the secured building, but could hear a woman screaming and crying on the third floor.

While officers waited for other residents to open a door, they said Lineburg stuck his head out of a third-floor window and said, “Everything is fine, we’re okay.”

Lineburg was taken into custody without incident. Police said the alleged victim would not speak with an officer.

The complaint said a witness showed an officer a photo that Lineburg had sent to her of clothing burning in a bathtub and broken items in the third-floor apartment.

Lineburg did not have an attorney listed in court records. He was arraigned and taken to Allegheny County Jail after failing to post $7,500 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 28.