Accused of rampaging through his estranged wife's home with a hatchet, smashing her car with a shovel and hurling a machete at her as she fled down the street, an Evanston, Wyoming, man could face up to 41 years in prison if convicted.
The case of Jason C. Napoletano, 31, rose to the felony-level Uinta County District Court on Friday.
The investigation started at about 3 a.m. on June 19, when Evanston Police Officer Zachary Marler went to a residence for a woman reporting that her estranged husband had broken into her home and threatened her with an axe, according to an evidentiary affidavit filed in the case.
Napoletano’s civil court records indicate that he and his wife have had a divorce pending since last August.
Marler found the woman to be upset, standing on the sidewalk and talking to dispatch when he arrived, the affidavit says.
She said Napoletano broke into her home while she was asleep, attacked her male roommate, threatened to kill her and chased her around with an axe, bashing things inside the home during the alleged rampage.
She has a protection order in place against Napoletano, who isn’t supposed to be in her home, the woman added.
Chased With A Hatchet
In a later interview after Napoletano’s arrest, the woman elaborated, saying she woke to the sound of Napoletano yelling and standing at the end of a bed she was sharing that night with her male roommate and two of her three children.
Napoletano punched the male repeatedly then smacked his estranged wife on the face, the affidavit relates from their separate interviews.
He then allegedly threw the roommate outside, locked the door behind him and proceeded to chase his estranged wife around the house while hacking the furniture with the hatchet.
The hatchet blade hit the counter inches from her head, she said.
She was able to sneak past him and get outside, where she ran down the road and heard a loud banging sound crash down behind her, the document relates.
Police reportedly found a machete in that spot during their later investigation. The affidavit says a shovel was still smashed into the woman's car window.
They also reportedly found the front door gouged, a TV smashed, a hole in the living room wall, three gouges sliced across the kitchen freezer, two more on the table and three on the kitchen counter.
But First, The Arrest
Before police noted all these alleged events, they tracked down Napoletano to arrest him.
“From multiple previous interactions with Napoletano, officers knew he would go to his mother and grandmothers’ residence, which was located next door,” says the affidavit.
Marler knocked at the home next door and spoke with a woman whom he doesn’t confirm is Napoletano’s mother, but who has the same last name as he.
The woman said she had the children but “wouldn’t give a straight answer” when officers asked if Napoletano was there, the document alleges.
“If you promise not to arrest him, I will get him,” she allegedly said after some back-and-forth.
Marler countered sharply, saying the children’s safety was a serious matter and she may be charged for interfering with the investigation.
The woman ran downstairs, and the officer followed. He found Napoletano “hiding on the floor near the bed,” not far from his three children, the affidavit says.
Napoletano didn’t want to talk about the case and allegedly told officers to just take him to jail.
The Charges
Uinta County Attorney Loretta Howieson Kallas charged Napoletano on June 20 with two counts of aggravated assault, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines; with one count of burglary, punishable by up to 10 years and $10,000; one count of felony domestic battery (up to 10 years and $10,000); misdemeanor property destruction (up to six months and $750); and battery (up to six months and $750).
The case is ongoing.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
