In Westmoreland County Court yesterday, a Blairsville man was found not guilty of charges that he threatened the life of his wife. The acquittal came after the wife recanted her testimony and told the jury that she had lied to police about the October 2019 incident.
45-year-old James Leroy Trout Jr. was charged with misdemeanor terroristic threats and simple assault. Police said he had gone to a home in Latrobe where his wife had gone after they’d fought in their home. Michele Trout told police she had fled to a male friend’s home after her husband threatened to shoot her in the head. She said James Trout had driven to the friend’s home, honked his horn, and later appeared to hold up a gun. Police later found a handgun under the seat of Trout’s car.
Michele Trout told the jury yesterday that her husband never threatened her and she was “out of (her) mind and…wanted to make him look bad.” She also testified that she tried to tell police she’d lied to them, but they refused to drop the charges.
The two-day trial was held before Westmoreland County Judge Christopher Feliciani.
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