Man remanded to state custody for assault

A local man will spend the next 10 years under state supervision for intentionally using a chair to inflict harm on his wife.
David Pilcher, 46, was remanded into state custody last Thursday after being sentenced to 10 years in the Department of Corrections with five years suspended on one felony charge of assault with a weapon. Pilcher will have to pay $1,585 in fines and fees, complete a chemical dependency evaluation, a criminal errors thinking class and follow 35 court-imposed conditions.
He declined to make a statement prior to sentencing and was taken into custody immediately after. Twenty-second Judicial District Judge Blair Jones noted the sentence provided for accountability, rehabilitation and a measure of safety through Pilcher’s extended supervision.
The case stemmed from an Aug. 2 incident at Pilcher’s Columbus home when law enforcement was called to an assault-in-progress around 7 a.m. One officer said Pilcher had the odor of alcohol on his breath, was slurring his words and claimed to have defended himself against his wife, who had kicked him in bed, according to court documents.
Pilcher’s wife, who had scratch marks and bruises on her body, told officers Pilcher had been drinking since the night before and grew increasingly aggressive towards her. The wife said she had been choked, hit and kicked several times throughout the night, at one point, Pilcher allegedly used a metal stool to choke his wife until she couldn’t breath, bending the stool rungs in the process, according to court documents.
The wife attempted to leave the house several times but was caught and when she tried to call 911, Pilcher allegedly took the phone and either hid or destroyed it. She eventually ran to a neighboring house.
The wife also told investigators she passed out two different times during the assaults and “honestly thought she was going to die and that he was going to kill her,” according to court documents.
The wife had knots on her head and large wads of loose hair coming from her head.
Pilcher’s daughter was in the house at the time of the assaults and when she tried to intervene, Pilcher struck her and pushed her and took her phone away, according to court documents. The girl was eventually able to escape from the house. The girl told police she had seen her father previously assault his wife as well as his ex-wife, according to court documents.
Pilcher was arrested that morning and told police that his wife had inflicted the injuries on herself by repeatedly throwing herself in a closet several times and beating her head for the purpose of blaming him, according to court documents. A BAC test registered .058.