Carlisle man charged with assault, holding ex-wife and children hostage

A young girl's claim her father was hurting her mother led to a man's arrest in Carlisle County on Wednesday.

Deputies responded to a home in the 2100 block of State Route 1591 after a resident reported a young girl coming to their home screaming for them to call 911.

Officers said Ricardo Romero was found at the home in an intoxicated state, cursing at the neighbor for calling police.

Romero had reportedly showed up to his ex-wife's home and forced the family into the living room while taking their cell phones.

The sheriff's office said the family was held for about two hours while Romero assaulted his ex-wife in front of the children.

The eight-year-old child was able to escape while Romero escored his ex-wife to the restroom.

He was charged with unlawful imprisonment, strangulation, assault, and menacing.

At the time of his arrest he was serving five years of probation from a 2020 criminal abuse case.

Romero is lodged at the McCracken County jail.