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YOUNGSTOWN -- A city man is accused of striking a woman in the head with a glass ashtray after she refused his request for sex.
Police arrested Bernard A. Hasley, 57, early Wednesday on a first-degree misdemeanor charge of assault.
A Youngstown police report states officers responded shortly after 12:30 a.m. to a fight at a home in the 2500 block of Oak Hill Avenue. They found a woman bleeding from her forehead. The woman told police that Hasley had invited her to the home and then led her to his bedroom, and pursued a sexual favor.
The report states Hasley became angry when she refused and began shoving her. She told police Hasley then grabbed a glass ashtray and struck her repeatedly in the head. The woman said she punched Hasley in the face or head while trying to get him off her.
Hasley, on the other hand, told police the woman arrived at the home angry because he was seeing another woman. He said she became increasingly upset in the bedroom and reached into her backpack for what he believed was a knife.
Hasley told police he grabbed her arms to restrain her before she picked up the ashtray and tried to hit him with it. He said he deflected the ashtray, which then hit the woman.
When police asked about a bump on Hasley's head, he said the woman may have struck him once with the ashtray, although he was unsure.
However, the report states Hasley could not describe the knife when asked, and admitted he never actually saw the woman remove one from her backpack. The woman denied having a weapon and let police search the bag. There was no knife inside.
Police found blood on the bedroom floor and a broken glass ashtray.
After speaking with both parties and considering the woman's injuries, police determined Hasley was the primary aggressor and arrested him. He was taken to the Mahoning County jail.
The woman was treated at the scene before being taken by ambulance to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital.
Hasley has a lengthy criminal record, though most of his charges are misdemeanors or low-level felonies, including a 2020 conviction for felony drug possession. A 2005 charge of domestic violence was dismissed.
Youngstown Municipal Court online records had not yet been updated on Wednesday to indicate when Hasley's next court date is scheduled.