Northeast School District Min. Shawn D. Minnich has been charged with burglary, assault and other charges related to a Dec. 4 domestic dispute in which he broke into his estranged wife's home and assaulted her boyfriend, according to court documents.
Minnich, who turns 44 on Saturday, was arrested at his estranged wife's home in East Manchester Township and charged with various offenses related to the dispute.
He could not be reached for comment. Minnich's attorney, Farley Holt, said Friday, “There's a lot more to the story. The probable cause affidavit, of course, only tells one side of the story.”
According to the criminal complaint, Northeast District police were dispatched to Kathy Minnich's home at 9:39 p.m. for a reported domestic disturbance.
The officer reported that dispatchers told him that a man was fighting with the occupants of the home and that screaming, yelling, arguing and slapping could be heard. At one point, a man was reported to have shouted: “You're (bleeding) dead!”
After the officer handcuffed Minnich and arrested him, he reported that Minnich told him he was there to see his children. The officer said Minnich gave no explanation for forcing the door open, actually breaking the glass on a sliding glass door, to get into the home.
Minnich told the officer he did not like that she was dating another man, Chris Leh. He said he saw them through the sliding glass door.
The officer reported that Minnich said he knew what he was doing was wrong.
Kathy Minnich told the officer that she and Leh heard the doorbell ring and a knock on the front door.
“The volume of the knocking on the front door and the ringing of the doorbell made them afraid and they moved the children and themselves into the back downstairs bedroom,” the officer wrote in the complaint. “At one point, the family dog moved the curtain and they could see Shawn Minnich standing on the porch looking into the bedroom through the sliding glass door.”
Kathy Minnich said she told her estranged husband to leave or she would call the police.
He did not do it. Instead, the complaint states, Minnich took patio furniture and began slamming it into the glass door, breaking one of the panes.
Once inside, the complaint states, Minnich approached Leh, putting his hand around Leh's neck and pushing him against a wall and punching and struggling with him.
Leh told police that Minnich “kept asking him to shoot him,” according to the complaint.
Minnich also pushed his estranged wife and called her a “whore,” the complaint states.
Leh told police that everyone in the house was afraid Minnich was going to kill them.
In addition to burglary and simple assault, according to court records, Minnich was charged with criminal trespass, two counts of recklessly threatening another person, criminal mischief and harassment.
He was booked into York County Central Booking and released on $15,000 bond.
Minnich has been superintendent for the Northeastern school district since July 1, 2013, according to newspaper records. Prior to that, he was the district's assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction. He has been with the district since 1996, when he was hired as an elementary school teacher.
Holt, Minnich's attorney, declined to elaborate on the charges against his client.
“The charges seem much worse than what happened that day,” Holt said.
He said he looked into Minnich's background before taking his case.
“He has no prior criminal record,” Holt said. “He was just having a bad day.”
Staff writers Rick Lee and Angie Mason contributed to this report.
Announcement of the District
School board President Margie Walker declined to answer questions about Shawn Minnich's arrest, including his status with the district.
On the advice of his attorney, the board will have no public comment on the charges, Walker said.
“This is a personnel matter, and the district remains committed to providing the best possible education to every student,” he said.
Granted PFA
Kathy Minnich was granted a temporary Protection From Abuse order against her estranged husband on Dec. 7 in York County Court of Common Pleas. He orders Shawn Minnich away from the house and away from any contact with her.
In her PFA application, Kathy Minnich described the alleged events of the December 4th incident. She also accused him of assaulting or threatening her in front of their children earlier this year. He was not charged in connection with these alleged incidents.
The filing states that Shawn Minnich filed for divorce on Nov. 19.
