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PITTSTON — A former police sergeant in Duryea was arrested Sunday on domestic violence charges alleging he choked and knocked out his estranged wife.
Michael Rosemellia, 35, of New Street, Duryea, is jailed without bail at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility on charges of strangulation, simple assault and harassment.
Pittston police filed the charges against Rosemellia after investigating a domestic disturbance at a residence on Chapel Street Sunday afternoon.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police responded to the Chapel Street house where they found a broken table and glass and spoke with Michelle Wroblewski.
Wroblewski identified Rosemellia as her husband.
She claimed Rosemellia showed up at the house looking for a cushion for his outdoor dining set. Wroblewski told Rosemellia not to go inside the house as it is a mess.
Wroblewski claimed Rosemellia threw her into a table and struck her in the face. When she began to fight back, she told police Rosemellia put her in a choke hold, cutting her ability to breathe.
Wroblewski continued to fight back by biting, scratching and ripping the shorts Rosemellia wore, the complaint says.
While Wroblewski was getting choked, she told police their 4-year-old daughter struck Rosemellia with a cane and yelled, “Stop daddy, stop,” according to the complaint.
Rosemellia let go of Wroblewski and punched her in the face, according to the complaint, knocking her out on the kitchen floor.
When Wroblewski woke up, Rosemellia was gone with their children.
Police said Wroblewski called her mother, claiming Rosemellia had choked and punched her and her children were taken by him.
Rosemellia was arrested at his residence.
Police said Wroblewski had injuries to her neck.
Rosemellia resigned from the Duryea police department in January 2019 after being charged with interfering in his estranged wife’s vehicle crash in Old Forge in May 2018. At the time, his wife’s driver’s license was suspended.
Court records say Rosemellia showed up at the crash scene and waved his badge to the other driver. Rosemellia filed a claim with Erie Insurance saying his mother-in-law was driving the vehicle and received a $3,686.08 check for damages.
Rosemellia pleaded guilty in Lackawanna County Court to obstruction of administration of law and was sentenced to one-year probation in April 2019, court records say.
District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke arraigned Rosemellia on the domestic violence charges.