Actor Terrence Howard, of “Red Tails” and “Iron Man” fame, was assaulted by former girlfriend and Plymouth Meeting resident May Seng Yang, 39, of 1919 Sandy Hill Road, Plymouth Meeting, earlier this month, police say.
An affidavit of probable cause filed at the 38-1-23 district court in Lafayette Hill describes the incident as one in which Howard and a current girlfriend attest Yang harassed the couple at their residential gate before assaulting the actor, while Yang gave several conflicting stories that Howard assaulted her.
Authorities stated that they found Howard’s version the more believable of the two, and Yang currently faces charges of simple assault, defiant trespass, harassment, and disorderly conduct.
The incident began at 8:50 p.m. on May 6, when Whitemarsh Police were dispatched to the residence, near the intersection of Ridge and Butler pikes in Lafayette Hill.
Upon arrival, police spoke with Howard, who told them that he and Yang had been romantically involved on and off for several years, but that after he had broken things off, Yang continued to contact him despite asking her many times to stop.
Howard also told police that he was reluctant to file a report earlier because “his career places him in the public eye, and he did not wish to garner any unnecessary attention,” the affidavit said.
According to the report, Yang had parked her vehicle around the corner from Howard’s residence that evening and rang the bell on the property’s gate. Howard’s current girlfriend then came out to speak with Yang, who made it sound as if Howard was expecting her.
Yang became frustrated and began to yell, at which point Howard came to the gate out of concern that neighbors would be annoyed by the disturbance, the report said.
The stories diverge from here. Howard and his current girlfriend both independently told police that he opened the gate in an attempt to calm Yang down, at which point she immediately jumped on him, hitting him in the face.
Howard then pushed Yang off of him, sending her to the ground, at which point she got up and stated she was calling police before running to a nearby residence, Howard told authorities. The affidavit states that Howard did sustain swelling and a cut to the bridge of his nose.
Yang, on the other hand, told police that Howard had attacked her for no reason, smacking her in the face, choking her, and throwing her to the ground. However, Yang changed the order of attack “almost every time she told the story,” and also couldn’t make up her mind as to whether she’d been hit with a slap or a closed fist, the affidavit says. She finally settled on closed fist, the responding officer reported.
Yang did appear to have a small bruise to her left eyelid, but police wrote that “a closed fist punch in the face by someone so much larger than she would have caused a much more severe injury.”
Yang was transported to the Whitemarsh Police station, where she further stated that she went to Howard’s residence because she deserved an explanation for his lack of communication. She also told police that she was missing her cell pone, but later changed her story to say that Howard had taken it and smashed it, and then later again to say that Howard had taken the phone into the house.
Neither Howard nor his current girlfriend recall seeing the phone, and there was no debris at the time of the incident, police wrote.
Yang also wrote a 15-page statement that was placed into the case folder.
She was told to have no further contact with either individual, and is due to appear for her preliminary hearing on June 12 at 10 a.m. Court documents show she will be represented by attorney John J. McAuliffe Jr., of Norristown.
Yang has no previous criminal record in Montgomery County, Pa.
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