A Hempfield man released from federal prison in May posted $25,000 bail Tuesday after police said he broke into a Jeannette home and attacked a woman, according to court papers.

The woman was taken to a hospital for treatment of a broken finger and lip laceration, police said. Tristin B. Axton, 23, is charged with aggravated assault, burglary, theft and related offenses.

Jeannette police said a break-in was reported at 2:30 a.m. Sunday on Bennett Avenue, where authorities found a woman with blood on her arms, hands and face. She told police Axton forced his way into her home shortly after she told him their relationship was over and that she intended to file for custody of their child, according to court papers.

The woman told authorities that Axton dragged her through the home, used her hands to punch her in the face repeatedly and slammed her head and torso into into the floor. She fled to a relative’s home when Axton left with her cell phone and keys, according to court papers.

Police said they located the cell phone in the Brookline section of Pittsburgh and spotted Axton’s car traveling west on Route 22 in Monroeville through a license plate reader system in Allegheny County. On Monday, Axton arrived at the city police station to provide his side of the story, which authorities said in court papers contradicted evidence they obtained.

Axton denied taking the woman’s keys and cell phone, claiming that he went to his Hempfield home after being in Jeannette, according to court papers. He was arraigned Tuesday. A Jan. 27 preliminary hearing is set. He did not have an attorney listed in online court records.

Axton was released from federal prison in May. He was sentenced in 2018 to serve five years’ incarceration followed by three years of supervised release on heroin distribution charges, according to prison records. Federal prosecutors said he acknowledged selling heroin that killed a Charleroi man in 2015, when Axton was a juvenile.

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