HOLLIDAYSBURG — The city man taken into custody for assaulting his pregnant girlfriend and her two small children was sentenced to four to eight years in a state correctional facility after accepting a plea agreement in Blair County court.

Dillon James Wertz, 28, was originally charged with single felony counts of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children, two misdemeanor counts of simple assault, single misdemeanor counts of making terroristic threats and recklessly endangering another person, as well as a summary count of harassment.

As part of the deal, Wertz pleaded guilty Friday to single felony counts of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children and single misdemeanor counts of making terroristic threats and simple assault. The remaining charges against him were dismissed.

Initially gathered to hear a petition for habeas corpus, Wertz decided to take the plea agreement offered by Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Mays in order to expedite the resolution of his case.

Mays told presiding Judge Jackie Atherton Bernard that he had been in contact with the victim’s mother, who was also a victim in the case herself, and the case’s other victim and they were okay with the deal. He made the request for Wertz to receive a drug and alcohol evaluation, anger management and a mental health evaluation as a part of his sentence.

Accompanied by defense attorney John Siford, Wertz addressed Bernard on his own behalf. Wertz said he had been treated earlier this year, prior to his arrest, for his mental health. He told Bernard he had been formally diagnosed with both bipolar disorder and intermittent explosive disorder.

Before handing down her sentence, Bernard said while she understood Wertz has a diagnosis, his behavior is “very concerning.”

“The situation for our little one here could have been so much worse,” Bernard said, noting the then-15-month-old victim had to be flown to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh for specialized care.

Wertz said that was why he was pleading guilty, because he was guilty and wanted to take full responsibility.

“I feel it’s important for me to acknowledge that I have a problem” and try to fix it, Wertz told Bernard.

Bernard nodded at this, then said the community wouldn’t be safe until Wertz was able to get his behavior under control.

In her sentence, Bernard ordered Wertz to serve — concurrently — 4 to 8 years in prison for each of the felony counts against him, 2.5 to 5 years for misdemeanor making terroristic threats and one year of probation following his prison time for misdemeanor simple assault, for a total of 4 to 8 years and one year of parole. He was also ordered to pay $400 in fines.

As terms of his sentence and parole, Wertz was prohibited from owning a firearm or any dangerous weapon and ordered to undergo drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations, complete a domestic batterers program, anger management and a parenting class. Bernard then ordered Wertz to have no contact with the youngest victim.

After learning that Wertz and his girlfriend had since welcomed a baby, Bernard reopened the record and made the recommendation to Wertz’s future parole board that Wertz have no unsupervised contact with his children. She explained to Wertz that due to the state sentence she had just handed down, he would go before a state parole board upon his release from prison.

Wertz was arrested on June 6 after Altoona police officers were dispatched to UPMC Altoona for a report of an assault on a 15-month-old child, who was brought in with facial injuries.

Investigator Matthew Angermeier testified during Wertz’s preliminary hearing in Blair County Central Court on June 25 that he saw bruising and swelling on the right side of the victim’s face that extended from her forehead “all the way down her cheek.”

Angermeier said the victim was flown to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh “for a possible brain bleed.”

According to the affidavit of probable cause, Children, Youth & Families told Angermeier that Pittsburgh doctors determined the victim didn’t have a brain bleed, but her injuries were not accidental.

The victim’s mother, who was seven months pregnant at the preliminary hearing, said during her testimony that they were hanging out at Wertz’s residence when her children, including her 3-year-old son, began to cry.

An argument began when Wertz “smacked” her son across the mouth for crying too much, the woman said. Wertz then “got physical” and hit her “five or six times” in the head before hitting the 15-month-old victim.

The woman said their arguing had caused the baby to start crying again, so Wertz began screaming incoherently in her face. In an attempt to stop him, the woman tried to put her arm in front of him, and Wertz hit her in the stomach, causing her to fall to the ground, she said.

It was while the woman was trying to regain her footing that she saw Wertz “smack” the baby, she said.

When she tried to leave with her children, the woman said Wertz threatened to burn her father’s house down with everyone inside. Later in her testimony, she confirmed that was where she and her children were living.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.