Authorities say Sean Deibert attacked his 71-year-old mother before confronting officers inside a Lehigh Township home.

LEHIGH TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man accused of choking and threatening his 71-year-old mother before she escaped to a neighbor’s home now faces an expanded criminal case over what police say happened when officers entered the residence and encountered him with a knife.

Sean Deibert, 49, was initially charged with strangulation, simple assault and terroristic threats after the July 29 incident on the 4100 block of Heritage Lane in Northampton County. Pennsylvania State Police later filed three felony aggravated-assault counts connected to his alleged actions toward responding officers, along with a charge of possessing an instrument of crime and another terroristic-threats count. By mid-August, Deibert had been committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $100,000 cash bail, according to local reporting citing state police.

The case began shortly before 4 p.m. when Lehigh Township officers were sent to the Heritage Lane home for a reported domestic disturbance involving Deibert and his mother. The woman told investigators that her son had entered her room, pushed or threw her to the ground and choked her. Later accounts from state police also said she reported being hit in the head and threatened with death. Those statements are allegations contained in the developing criminal case and have not been established by a conviction.

The confrontation did not remain inside the house. Investigators said Deibert went outdoors while yelling and allegedly threatened a neighbor. That part of the episode created an opening for his mother to get away from the residence. She reached a nearby home and contacted 911. Early reporting said she was treated after the encounter, although authorities did not publicly describe the full extent of her injuries. She later gave a brief description of how sore she felt after the alleged assault.

Responding police encountered Deibert outside when they arrived, according to a later state police account. Investigators said officers saw what were described as nunchucks in his clothing before he went back into the home. Police spoke with the 71-year-old woman and learned more about what she said had happened. Officers then tried to get Deibert to leave the residence, but authorities said he did not comply with their requests.

The officers eventually entered. State police said Deibert came out of a room carrying a knife and continued toward the officers despite commands to drop it. One officer fired two rounds, striking Deibert in the chest and arm, while another deployed a stun gun, according to the later account. Police said Deibert then dropped the knife and went to his knees. Officers provided medical aid while taking him into custody, and he was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg for treatment.

Investigators also allege that Deibert threatened an officer after he had been shot. That allegation became part of the later case focusing on his conduct toward law enforcement. The additional aggravated-assault counts marked a significant expansion beyond the charges connected to his mother and the neighbor. They also provided more detail than authorities had released immediately after the shooting, when state police said only that a confrontation occurred, a Taser was used and an officer fired a gun.

The distinction matters because the July 29 episode has produced two related but separate areas of official scrutiny. Deibert is being prosecuted over his alleged conduct before and during the police response, while the discharge of the officer’s firearm is itself being reviewed under the procedures used after an officer-involved shooting. Pennsylvania State Police Troop M’s Major Case Team took responsibility for investigating the shooting with involvement from the Northampton County District Attorney’s Office. No final public determination on the officer’s use of force was identified in the sources reviewed for this report.

Lehigh Township police later discussed the incident publicly at a supervisors meeting. Sgt. Jon Roth said officers had requested assistance from police in Moore Township, Walnutport and Slatington. He also said officers involved in the incident were on administrative leave, describing that action as standard procedure rather than a finding of wrongdoing. Township supervisors thanked police for their response. State police, rather than the township department whose officer fired, were handling the shooting investigation.

The strangulation accusation carries particular legal significance under Pennsylvania law. The state’s strangulation statute generally covers knowingly or intentionally interfering with another person’s breathing or blood circulation by applying pressure to the throat or neck or by blocking the nose and mouth. The law specifically says visible physical injury is not required to establish the offense. It also provides enhanced grading when the alleged victim is a family or household member, making the relationship between Deibert and his mother relevant to the charge prosecutors filed.

The aggravated-assault allegations arising from the police encounter involve a different part of Pennsylvania’s Crimes Code. State law provides several ways aggravated assault can be charged when alleged conduct is directed at police officers performing their duties, including attempts to cause certain injuries or using physical menace to place an officer in fear of imminent serious bodily injury. Which precise statutory theory prosecutors intend to prove on each count will depend on the charging documents and evidence presented in court, and the filing of charges is not itself proof that Deibert committed the offenses.

The other allegations also remain subject to the normal criminal process. Pennsylvania defines terroristic threats to include certain communications threatening crimes of violence when made with the required intent, while the state’s instrument-of-crime law addresses possession of an object under circumstances and with an alleged criminal purpose specified by statute. Authorities have linked those later charges to the confrontation with officers, but the publicly reviewed reports do not establish how Deibert will respond to each allegation or what defenses may be raised.

As of the latest verified local reports reviewed, Deibert had been jailed on cash bail and the criminal proceedings were continuing. The separate investigation into the officer’s gunfire also remained an important unresolved part of the July 29 response. No final finding by state police or the Northampton County District Attorney’s Office concerning the shooting was located in the material reviewed for this update.

Author note: Last updated September 9, 2026.