New Kensington landlord charged after police say he assaulted tenant, shut off utilities

A New Kensington tenant who at first declined to pursue assault and other charges against his landlord changed his mind after the landlord shut off his utilities the next day, according to city police.

William Paris Johnas, 65, faces a felony charge of burglary, misdemeanor counts of strangulation and simple assault, and a summary charge of criminal mischief.

Johnas was not in custody and had not been arraigned on the charges as of Wednesday, according to court records. He did not have a listed attorney and could not be reached at a listed phone number.

In court records, police said officers spoke with Johnas and the tenant March 5 at the apartment on the third floor of a building in the 500 block of Fifth Avenue.

Johnas told officers his tenant of 18 months needed to be removed. Why Johnas wanted the man removed was not provided in the court filings.

Officers told Johnas he would need to serve the tenant an eviction notice. The tenant told officers he had told Johnas the same thing when Johnas came to his apartment and told him he needed to leave.

The tenant told officers that, after closing the door, Johnas used a key to re-enter the apartment, court records state. The tenant said Johnas smashed his television and assaulted him, during which, the tenant said, Johnas tried to choke him.

Johnas left after the tenant told him he didn’t want to hurt Johnas, according to court records. The tenant told police he did not want to pursue charges at that time.

The next day, March 6, the tenant told police he wanted to pursue charges against Johnas after Johnas turned off his electric and natural gas services.