Early Tueday evening, 29-year-old Rafael Dinarte of Mount Pocono, PA saw his ex-girlfriend with two males in a car, and became enraged at the thought of the driver, known as Bam, dating her. So in a fit of jealousy, Dinarte jumped out of his car and pepper sprayed Bam’s vehicle, then brandished a .45 caliber handgun at the two men and his ex-girlfriend.

But it didn’t stop there. Around 1o:30 p.m. that evening, Dinarte was armed with a hockey stick when he showed up at his ex-girlfriend’s house and knocked on the door. When no one answered, he kicked it in.

The mother tried to defend herself with a sword-type weapon, but was knocked in the mouth by Dinarte, causing a tooth to fall out, police said. The struggle continued outdoors, with the ex-girlfriend allegedly struck three to four times by the hockey stick.

Dinarte then grabbed his ex-girlfriend by the throat and slammed her head into a concrete wall numerous times. But the young woman was able to escape and grabbed the hockey stick from Dinarte. She pinned him to the ground and smacked him with the hockey stick multiple times.

When Dinarte broke free, he grabbed the pistol he had hidden along the side of the home and threatened to shoot the two women. The woman’s mother stood in front of her daughter, attempting to protect her.

“I want my money. I’m going to (expletive) kill you,” Dinarte yelled. “You’re not going to be with anyone else.”

Neighbors heard the commotion and called 911. When he became aware of approaching law enforcement, Dinarte fled the scene.

The victims were transported to nearby hospitals for treatment.

Authorities located Dinette early Wednesday morning on a bus in Monroe County. He was arrested and booked at Northampton County Prison.

Police charged Dinarte with two counts aggravated assault, two counts simple assault, one count criminal trespass, one count persons not to possess firearms, two counts weapons possession, one count criminal mischief, two counts making terroristic threats, two counts reckless endangerment and two counts harassment.

Perhaps nobody ever told Dinarte, who was arrested in 2007 on a drug charge, that it was illegal for him to be in possession of a firearm.

If you feel threatened by an abuser or are in fear for your safety or life, please reach out for help and don’t hesitate to call police if you are in immediate danger.

Think danger may be in your near future?
Take a class. Connect with a group in your area. Protect your firearm and teach others gun safety.

Together, we can empower women to strengthen their personal protection plan to ensure they are never victimized again.