Westmoreland jury acquits suspended trooper of girlfriend's assault

Suspended state police Trooper Nicholas Hood was found not guilty Wednesday in connection to an alleged domestic violence incident two years in his Derry Township home.

A Westmoreland County jury deliberated two hours before finding Hood not guilty of one misdemeanor count of simple assault. Common Pleas Judge Michael Stewart II also acquitted Hood of a summary charge of harassment related to the Aug. 26, 2023, altercation with his live-in girlfriend.

“He’s just relieved it’s over,” said Hood’s defense lawyer, Brian Aston. “It’s been a really long process for him and his family.”

Hood, 33, was originally issued a summary citation in September 2023, but a month later that count was dropped after TribLive reported the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office had recommended he be charged with a more serious offense.

State police officials said the unit’s internal affairs division reevaluated the case and refiled charges that included one count of simple assault.

Hood has been suspended without pay for the last two years. Aston said Hood will seek reinstatement following his acquittal.

“For some unknown reason, a hard line was drawn here,” Aston said. “He feels he was being treated differently because he was a state trooper. I don’t think these charges would have been filed if he was just John Q. Public.”

Prosecutors contended Hood violently grabbed Sarah Hellmann from behind, threw her to the ground and covered her mouth as she attempted to scream for help.

Hood maintained Hellmann was the aggressor and he acted in self-defense to shove her away after she took their daughter out of his arms.

Hood testified the incident was the culmination of a tumultuous three-year relationship that became more fraught after the birth of the couple’s daughter in 2022. They continually argued over their potential future, he said.

He told jurors that a day before the violent fight he made clear his intention to not marry and have no more children with Hellmann.

In his closing argument to the jury, Aston said Hood’s actions during the physical altercation were justified and did not rise to the level of an assault.

“You must judge him like everyone else,” Aston said. “Justification is when you can use reasonable force. And in this case their child was being thrown around like a rag doll; she (Hellmann) pushed him, so he pushed back.”

Aston said a state police investigator could not substantiate that Hellmann sustained significant injuries.

Deputy Attorney Julieane Swain argued Hellmann’s version of events should be believed. She said photographs taken days after the incident depicted bruises on Hellmann’s arm and back and supported a diagnosis that she sustained a cervical sprain.

Hood’s story isn’t supported by the evidence, she told jurors.

“It doesn’t matter what they were fighting about,” Swain said. “It only matters that he assaulted her.”