Off-duty Pennsylvania State Police trooper arrested on burglary and aggravated assault charges

UNIONTOWN, Pa. (KDKA) — An off-duty Pennsylvania State Police trooper was arrested and charged with burglary and aggravated assault. 

Trooper James Stevenson was arrested in Fayette County this weekend. He is a trooper at the Uniontown Barracks and was off duty when the alleged incident happened. 

According to the criminal complaint, Stevenson went to a home on Oak Street in Connellsville just before 1 a.m. on Sunday. He found, according to police, a woman getting ready to have sex with another man. Investigators said that the woman is Stevenson’s girlfriend, but she tells KDKA that the two were broken up at the time the incident took place. 

The complaint said Stevenson jumped on top of the man and started hitting him. The woman, according to the complaint, was able to get out of the way.         

She allegedly told police that Stevenson was “beating” the man’s face. He then grabbed the woman by the shoulders and told he to get dressed, according to the complaint. She got into her car and left. She was not hurt.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim’s father found his son in bed unconscious. 

Outside the home, police said the victim’s father confronted Stevenson, reaching through his driver-side window to grab him. Stevenson then allegedly opened the door, knocking the man to the ground and breaking his glasses. 

The victim was treated at a local hospital for cuts and bruises to his face and a broken nose, the criminal complaint said. He declined an interview with KDKA-TV on Monday. 

State police in Waynesburg filed charges. A source told KDKA-TV that Stevenson was arraigned and is out on bond and unpaid leave from work. The Fayette County district attorney had no comment on this case. KDKA-TV reached out to state police but no comment yet. 

KDKA-TV also learned that Stevenson filed a discrimination lawsuit against state police and several supervisors at the Chambersburg Barracks in 2022. That lawsuit is still active.