Washington Township man with string of felony convictions denied bond after police file gun, assault, other charges

A Washington Township man who has multiple felony convictions is jailed without bond on gun, assault and theft charges.

Harold Michael Franks, 40, of the 300 block of Route 356 was charged with illegal possession of a firearm, two counts of aggravated assault, theft and receiving stolen property, which are felonies. He also faces charges of making terroristic threats, unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment and two count of simple assault.

Franks is in the Westmoreland County Prison after bond was denied during his arraignment before District Judge Jason Buczak on Friday, according to court records.

Franks faces a preliminary hearing before Buczak on Aug. 22.

Police accused Franks of taking a Glock .380 handgun from the vehicle of a woman and then assaulting her when she confronted him, according to a criminal complaint.

Frank’s previous felony convictions prohibit him from possessing a firearm, according to investigators.

The woman told police that, when she warned Franks she would report the gun as stolen, he pulled it out and threatened “to shoot everybody,” the complaint said.

The woman said she ran from the vehicle, but Franks chased her down and hit her in the face with the pistol.

She said Franks choked her as she tried to escape his hold but “quit fighting” when she felt like she was about to pass out, according to his arrest papers.

The woman told police Franks bound her hands with electrical tape and drove off after forcing her into the passenger seat of the vehicle.

She said Franks fled in the vehicle after taking $650 she told him she had in her purse and promising not to call police.

Police said the woman had blood running out of her nostrils, a bloody gash on the side of her nose, which also was swollen and bruised, the complaint said. She also had red marks on the front of her neck and abrasions on her elbows. She was transported to a hospital for treatment, police said.

In May 2019 Franks pleaded guilty to one count of simple assault in connection with an incident earlier that year in Washington Township.

Franks initially was charged with strangulation, making terroristic threats and other offenses during a domestic altercation but those charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

Instead, Franks pleaded guilty to DUI and simple assault.

In 2017, the same woman involved in the 2019 strangulation case accused Franks of sexually assaulting her.

The woman then recanted her accusations and claimed she was a willing participant in rough sexual activity that occurred while she and Franks were drunk.

A judge ruled that much of the evidence in that case was inadmissible at trial even though the rape prosecution was allowed to continue. An appeal filed by prosecutors seeking to overturn the ruling in the rape case is still pending.

Franks was convicted in 2004 on felony counts of burglary and criminal conspiracy for which he was sentenced to 18 to 36 months in jail, according to court records.

He also was found guilty in 2004 of felony counts of robbery and kidnapping as well as theft. He was sentenced to 57 to 120 months in jail, court records show.

Both cases were filed by police in the City of Butler.

In 2002 Franks pleaded guilty to theft and receiving stolen property charges filed by Harrison police and was sentenced to two years probation.

He also was convicted that year of a felony count of carrying a firearm without a license and making terroristic threats, according to court records. He was sentenced to a year of probation.