Woman sought in assault, robbery incident

A Lower North Hill woman is being sought by the police for reportedly robbing a man in a secluded area while her accomplice was beating him up.

New Castle police have charged Courtney Probst, 29, of Wildwood Avenue in connection with the incident reported to have occurred just after midnight Sunday morning. The man who was with her and was part of the reported assault has not yet been identified.

The reported victim suffered serious bodily injury, according to a criminal complaint.

The report said that officers were alerted to the incident by residents of the Dillworth Avenue neighborhood, who reported a bloodied man apparently beaten up was knocking on their doors.

The police arrived in the area to find him bleeding from his nose, eyes, mouth and top of his head, according to the complaint. He had numerous raised welts on his head, a gash in his upper eyebrow area that was bleeding profusely, bloody eyes and a cut-open lip.

The man told police he had been at a bar and talking to Probst on her cell phone, and she invited him go to “up north” to party, he said. He said she picked him up from the bar and drove in a direction different from where she said they were going go, he told police.

The complaint states he questioned her about the direction they were going in, as she drove past a ball field and down a dirt road in a heavily wooded area, he told police. They arrived in the area of Dillworth Avenue and a man with dreadlocks who was in the back seat attacked him, he said.

He said the man strapped the seat belt around his neck and threatened to slice his neck open if he fought back. He said Probst ordered him not to fight back, and she reached over and took his wallet, coat and cell phone as he was struggling to get free from the man, the complaint states.

The man told police during the struggle, his attacker grabbed glass bottles and struck him in the head with them. The man and Probst then pushed him out of the vehicle and drove away, the report said.

An ambulance arrived and attendants gave the man medical treatment. The EMTs told police they removed multiple pieces of glass from his head, and he had severe swelling on his skull and serious damage to his right eye. He was transported to the hospital for further treatment, police reported.

Probst is facing one count each of robbery, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and theft. A warrant has been issued for Probst’s arrest. She also is wanted by police on warrants for previous reported theft and assault incidents dating back to December and January.

The police are continuing to investigate the case and are trying to identify the other male who was involved, the report said.

Probst had been arrested in 2014 for a similar incident, where she and a reported accomplice, Jonathon Benjamin Coates, 36, had beaten up and robbed a man. They each pleaded guilty to robbey in that case in 2017 and served Lawrence County jail sentences.

Suspects are to be considered innocent until proven guilty or adjudicated by a court.

dwachter@ncnewsonline.com