Woman changes mind; assault charges refiled

Hours after a district judge dismissed domestic assault charges against Kevin Alan Fox because his girlfriend refused to testify at a Thursday morning preliminary hearing, Plymouth police refiled the charges when the woman had second thoughts, Luzerne County District Attorney Jacqueline Musto Carroll said.

Fox, 42, of Davis Place, Plymouth, was charged Thursday afternoon with allegedly setting Ann Mack’s shirt on fire on July 3, according to court and arrest records.

Police said Mack claimed Fox lit her shirt on fire, forcing her to pull the garment off her body. He also threatened Mack’s 91-year-old grandmother, Alvina Mack.

Mack told police Fox had been drinking and became upset because she was wearing his shirt.

Fox was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment, terroristic threats and disorderly conduct. He was arraigned before District Judge Paul J. Roberts Jr. in Kingston and jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $10,000 bail.

Fox was initially charged over the alleged shirt-burning incident on July 9, according to court records.

When Mack appeared for the preliminary hearing in Central Court on Thursday, she refused to testify, forcing a district judge to dismiss the case against Fox.

“Police sat down with her after the hearing and she had second thoughts,” Musto Carroll said. “She said she will go through with the charges.”

When Mack agreed to pursue the charges, police arrested Fox on Thursday afternoon.

It was the second time Mack refused to testify against Fox at a preliminary hearing.

Fox was charged on June 4 with threatening Mack and her grandmother with a 15-inch knife, according to arrest records. During a June 17 preliminary hearing, the two women refused to testify, and the case was dismissed.

After the hearing in June, Fox asked Mack to marry him, and asked the judge to preside over the marriage.

Fox is tentatively scheduled for a preliminary hearing on the latest charges on July 24 in Central Court.