A Marshfield man is accused of assaulting his girlfriend and not allowing her to leave his pickup truck while the pair was looking for bears on the back roads of Marshfield and Montpelier on Monday night.
Harley Breer, 49, was arraigned in Caledonia County criminal court in St. Johnsbury on charges of kidnapping, first-degree aggravated domestic assault, and second-degree unlawful restraint.
He was released from prison a little over a year ago for a felony domestic assault conviction from 2011, in which he was put on probation for 45 years, according to a Times Argus report.
Breer pleaded not guilty to all three charges and denied any probation violation. He is being held without bail at the Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury.
Breer and his 25-year-old girlfriend were driving his silver Chevy pickup truck after 10 p.m. Monday “looking for bears,” when Breer became upset with her, called her a liar, and forced her head into the center console of the vehicle three times, according to statements made by the victim to police.
The girlfriend, who had been dating Breer for about a month, told police that every time she tried to sit up, Breer would force her head back into the center console.
Vermont State Trooper Clay Knight wrote in the affidavit that when he located the victim, “she had a bruise starting to form on the left side of her forehead just above her eye.”
The victim asked Breer to let her out of the truck, but he repeatedly refused and tried to pull her back into her seat and ripped the left shoulder strap of her tank top, Knight wrote.
Breer refused to let the victim out of the truck because he “did not want any third parties involved” to witness him violating his probation by being out of his residence after 10 p.m., according to the affidavit.
When the two arrived at their home in Marshfield, Breer hugged the victim and said “they were still friends,” Knight wrote.
After Breer fell sleep, the victim packed a bag to go to her father’s home, but she was afraid Breer would not allow her to leave because he had previously told her about “wanting to hurt certain women that he was upset with in the past,” Knight wrote in the affidavit. Breer had a firearm at the home, according to police.
The victim left the house, called police and began to walk down the road, but she saw Breer’s truck lights coming toward her, so she hid in bushes on the side of the road, she told police.
Breer drove past the victim five time before she heard him say “he was driving to Barre,” according to the affidavit.
The victim stayed in the bushes until the police dispatch told her Knight was on his way.
Other state troopers attempted to locate Breer with the help of Probation and Parole, who tried to track his ankle GPS, but said they were unable to get a fixed location because Breer had either taken the monitor off or had used a “jammer,” Knight wrote in the affidavit.
Vermont State Police announced Breer had eventually been arrested on Wednesday by Barre City Police and was arraigned the same day.
The charges of kidnapping, first-degree aggravated domestic assault, and second-degree unlawful restraint, all carry maximum penalties of life imprisonment and fines of more than $25,000.
Breer has faced 20 felony charges for domestic assault, sexual assault, kidnapping, disturbing the peace, aggravated assault, unlawful restraint and he has been convicted eight times, according to court documents. In 1999, he was sent to jail for eight years for a kidnapping conviction. He was convicted of kidnapping again in 2003, but his sentence of 20 to 30 years was suspended and he was placed on probation.
Between 2010 and 2011, Breer had six probation violations and was arraigned last month on these violations, according to court documents.
Breer is scheduled to appear in Washington County criminal court on Sept. 13 and again on Oct. 5.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Harley Breer again accused of assaulting and kidnapping girlfriend.