A woman from Derry was convicted in Westmoreland County Court for assaulting her next door neighbor with a hatchet.
The Tribune-Review reports that 51-year-old Denise Nichols was convicted on charges of felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor simple assault for an incident in November of 2016 when the two got involved in a dispute over a clothesline. Nichols claimed that she acted in self-defense after being tackled by a neighbor in the yard behind her home, but police said that Nichols instigated the fight.
Judge Christopher Feliciani sentenced her to five years of probation, including six months of house arrest.
