Vandergrift police say a man beat and strangled his girlfriend after she discovered him using the Tinder dating app, authorities say.
Steven Joseph Trenga, 26, of Wallace Street in Vandergrift was charged with a felony count of strangulation and a lesser charge of simple assault in connection with a Dec. 8 incident, according to a criminal complaint.
Police said they were dispatched to Trenga’s home after a neighbor in the apartment below called 911 to report a domestic dispute he believed turned physical.
When officers went to Trenga’s apartment, they heard screaming from inside, but nobody answered the door when they knocked, the complaint said.
Officers said they entered the unlocked apartment and saw Trenga on top of his 20-year-old girlfriend holding her arm.
Police said they separated the couple and called emergency medical technicians to the scene after the woman said she could not get up because of back pain. Officers said she had bruises on her neck.
She was transported to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville.
Trenga was detained in Westmoreland Count Prison until he posted a $30,000 bond.
He faces a preliminary hearing before District Judge Cheryl Peck-Yakopec on Dec. 14.
