TREMONT — A Pine Grove man accused of threatening a Black female Amazon delivery driver with a knife in Tremont Township will face all charges in the Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas.
Kevin Zimmerman, 58, appeared Thursday for a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge David Rossi in connection with the March 26 incident.
During the brief hearing, state police Trooper Connor Nettles testified to the validity of the charges filed against Zimmerman. He is charged with felony counts of aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation; misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and unlawful restraint; and a summary count of harassment.
Zimmerman, who was present for the hearing, has been out on bail since March 27. His bail was originally set at $75,000 cash and was posted by a third party.
Police were dispatched March 26 for a report by a Black female Amazon driver who said she was assaulted by Zimmerman while on her delivery route, according to reports.
According to police, Zimmerman accosted the delivery driver — brandishing an eight-inch knife, using racial epithets and grabbing her by the face — while she attempted to leave the property after realizing she was at the wrong address.
The woman was able to drive away and call 911 after Zimmerman released her from his grasp, police said.
Police were waiting for Zimmerman when returned home, according to documents.
Zimmerman confirmed his use of a racial epithet to describe the driver, as well as wielding the knife and grabbing her head, police said. He told police he confronted the driver because he had previously had problems with people stealing from his property.
Police then found the knife in Zimmerman’s truck.
Zimmerman continued to express hate and bias toward Black people while saying a racial epithet during his arraignment by Magisterial District Judge David Plachko, court documents said.
The suspect’s language prompted Plachko — who had already warned Zimmerman prior to giving his statement — to end the arraignment.