A man is behind bars after police said he attacked a woman walking a dog Tuesday afternoon on the Westmoreland Heritage Trail in Murrysville.
Municipal police said Colton M. Stennett, 30, of Jeannette, tried to pull off the woman’s pants but she fought back. He fled with her cellphone and police reported finding Stennett in a wooded area off Meadowbrook Road, according to court papers.
He is charged with attempted rape, robbery and related offenses. Bail was denied during his arraignment Tuesday night and he was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison.
The incident was reported around 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Witnesses told investigators they saw a suspicious man along the trail around mile marker 17, near where the trail crosses over Trafford Road. The woman told investigators the suspect repeatedly tried to take her pants off and push her to the ground.
She kicked him and bit him in the ribs, police said. When bicyclists came upon the incident, the suspect took off with her cellphone, according to court papers.
Police from several agencies helped search for the suspect and a man matching the description was found in a wooded area near the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority on Meadowbrook Road. He was identified as Stennett and a condom was found in his pocket, according to court papers.
Stennett told police he was walking from Trafford to Jeannette after getting in an argument with his girlfriend, according to court papers. He claimed that he blacked out while on the trail.
He did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A June 16 preliminary hearing is scheduled.
A motion to revoke Stennett’s probation in a 2020 gun case in Jeannette was filed by prosecutors in March, according to court records. He was sentenced in January 2024 to one year in jail and five years on probation. A revocation hearing is scheduled for June 18.