Centre County restaurant owner sentenced for strangling woman near Harrisburg
The owner of a Penns Valley cheesesteak shop was sentenced Tuesday to at least six months in jail for knocking a woman to the ground, strangling her and dragging her to a vehicle in Cumberland County.
South Philly Cheesesteaks owner Michele Albegiani, 49, of Potter Township, was sentenced by Cumberland County Judge Jessica Brewbaker to a maximum of 18 months in jail, followed by a year of probation. He received about six months credit for time served.
It’s unclear when Albegiani will be released. Multiple messages left with Cumberland County prosecutors and Cumberland County Senior Assistant Public Defender Danny Gray were not returned. He remained incarcerated Thursday morning at the Cumberland County Prison, according to a jail official.
Albegiani knocked the woman over in August after an argument at a restaurant supply store in Cumberland County, Lower Allen Township police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. He then put her in a chokehold and dragged her to a car, police wrote.
The woman told investigators it “hurt to talk” and she had difficult breathing. She was left with bruises and scrapes, police wrote.
Officers attempted to call the woman and later received a text message from her number that read “I promise I’m ok,” which the woman told police was sent by Albegiani after he stole her phone. He was arrested by state police at Rockview.
Albegiani pleaded guilty in January to one misdemeanor count each of theft and strangulation. Four charges were dropped.