CBS2 Exclusive: Staten Island Woman Claims She Was Shoved By Cable Guy
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A cable television technician allegedly harassed a Staten Island woman inside her home while he was making a service call.
In a CBS2 exclusive, the victim told Dave Carlin she was cursed at and shoved by a man who had been sent to help her.
"I felt defenseless and helpless," said the woman, who did not want her name used or face shown.
The woman said she regrets letting the cable guy inside her Tottenville home. It was Monday evening, and she figured it was safe because he was sent by Time Warner Cable.
But she said he attacked her.
"He grabbed my right arm with both hands and shoved me against my front door, and he held me there for a couple seconds. I was screaming and yelling for him to get off me. 'Get off me! Just get out of my house!'"
She said the man snapped after the two argued whether the work order was just for phone or for phone and cable. By the time it was sorted out, the technician said the job needed to be rescheduled, according to the woman.
The homeowner said she was irritated and told him to leave, and then tried to see his name tag.
She said that was when he shoved her in front of her 2-year-old daughter.
"I was in fear for my life and my daughter's life," she said. "And he's a technician. He had his tools on him. I didn't know if he had a weapon on him."
The woman said the man left when she threatened to call police. She called 911, and two blocks away officers arrested Orville Johnson, 45.
Johnson is charged with second-degree harassment. Prosecutors said they chose that charge rather than assault because the victim had no visible injuries from their encounter.
There was no sign of Johnson at his Clifton, New Jersey home. In the driveway was a work van with cable equipment inside, and a yellow safety vest over the front passenger seat.
The yellow vest matches the one the homeowner saw the suspect wearing. Johnson was working as a subcontractor for Time Warner.
"They should take responsibility for their employees," she said.
A spokesman for Time Warner gave CBS2 a statement.
"We take any allegation of this kind seriously, and we're working with law enforcement as they investigate what happened.," the statement said. "The technician is no longer performing TWC-related work."
The woman said she will never let any stranger in her home -- even for repair work -- without her husband or a friend with her as backup.
