Crime & Safety
Palmer Woman Assaulted Over Dinner
A Palmer Township man, police say, assaulted his ex-wife in their home because she hadn't made him dinner.
James Cannizzo, 53, of , came home from work Monday and found that the woman of the house hadn’t made dinner.
As a result, according to court records, he smashed the top of the stove and assaulted the woman – his ex-wife with whom he is living.
The ex-wife, talking to police at a neighbor’s house, was “crying hysterically” and saying she can’t go back home because “he’s gonna kill me … he’s gonna end up killing me,” the records say.
As officers went back and forth from Cannizzo’s home to the neighbor’s, they watched as Cannizzo punctured a tire on the car of another person, causing the tire to go flat.
In the end, the ex-wife said she wanted to obtain an emergency protection from abuse order against Cannizzo. And Cannizzo was charged with simple assault, harassment and criminal mischief.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Michael Calabrese, police found the ex-wife at the neighbor’s house on the 3000 block of Freemansburg Avenue, not far from Cannizzo’s home at 1000 Oakwood St.
The ex-wife said she fell to the floor during the alleged assault, causing bruising to her hands, knees and the temple area of her head.
Cannizzo, who was at his home, “rambled on to officers about how he was working all day only to come home and find he has no dinner.”
He admitted smashing the stove top and said he felt his ex-wife was coming after him, so he “defended himself” by grabbing her and throwing her down.
At the neighbor’s house, the ex-wife “again began to sob hysterically,” saying “he’s gonna kill us. He’s gonna kill us.”
After she requested the emergency PFA, officers returned to Cannizzo’s home and saw him in the driveway. “Cannizzo ducked down and the officers could hear a POP and a loud hissing.”
Cannizzo walked to his shed and came out, then police looked inside the shed and found a screwdriver inside the door.
”A reasonable person could deduce that Cannizzo had punctured the tire … requiring it to be repaired.” The records did not explain the relationship of the car owner to Cannizzo and the ex-wife.
Cannizzo was arraigned early Tuesday by on-duty District Judge Todd Strohe of Bangor. He was committed to Northampton County Prison after failing to post $10,000 bail.
The above information was supplied by District Judge Todd Strohe's office. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.