By Bob Stiles
Tribune-Review
GREENSBURG, Pa. — A Westmoreland County probation officer testified on Thursday she became afraid of one of her clients because he called her six times in two weeks.
“I knew I just needed to stay away from him for my safety,” Alissa Overly said.
Senior District Judge Bernice McCutcheon held David Allen Schandel, 51, of Unity for trial on charges of threatening harm to a public servant, stalking and harassment. McCutcheon was filling in for Greensburg District Judge James Albert.
Schandel made six threatening calls to Overly’s cellular and office phones between Sept. 30 and Oct. 17, county detectives charged.
Detectives recorded the calls, which were played during the hearing. Overly identified Schandel as the caller in each.
In the calls, Schandel requested the results of a urine test and said “things would be a lot easier if you would just marry me.”
“You call me when you’re coming out here,” he said during the fourth call. “I don’t answer the (expletive) door for anybody. Quit bangin’ on my doorbell. You hear me? I’ll see you later.”
“Hey, baby, can’t wait to hold you tonight,” he said during the fifth call to Overly.
Overly, a probation officer for nearly seven years, began supervising Schandel in May in connection with a drunken-driving case.
Probation officers go to clients’ homes, often unannounced, as part of their duties, Overly explained.
After the first few calls, Overly testified, she went to her supervisor.
“I was instructed to no longer go to his home because I felt uneasy and unsafe,” Overly said.
As the calls continued and Schandel told her to stop coming to his home, her concerns increased, Overly said. Schandel’s flirtatious overtones troubled her, she said.
“I didn’t like it. I should not be talked to like that, no matter what,” the probation officer said.
Schandel’s attorney, John O’Connell Jr., argued the charges should be dismissed because in none of the comments did his client directly say he planned to harm Overly.
The words with a romantic overtone were intended as “a joke,” O’Connell said. Schandel was exercising his right of free speech in using the “F word,” he added.
The comments must be viewed in context with all the statements, Assistant District Attorney James Lazar told McCutcheon.
Schandel remains in jail on a probation detainer and in lieu of posting $10,000 straight bail.