Charges Reduced in Belmont Hills Shooting

A Belmont Hills woman in front of their home Oct. 15 is no longer facing the most serious count against her.

Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Cara McMenamin withdrew the first-degree felony aggravated assault charge against Magdalene Dressel at a preliminary hearing Tuesday in .

Conviction on that charge would have meant a mandatory minimum five-year sentence, Dressel's attorney Jim Lyons told Patch. McMenamin said the guidelines for the second-degree felony aggravated assault charge made it more appropriate to the circumstances of the case.

Dressel, 41, shot and grazed Frank Fiora, 31, in the leg with his own gun in front of 131 Jefferson Street, Lower Merion police said.

Said Lyons, "It's not what it appears to have been originally, this case. It was not my client's intent to shoot anyone. There's serious questions as to whether she fired a shot at all. There was certainly a shot fired, but as to who fired it, it is murky."

Fiora, who declined medical attention, is also charged in the case: with simple assault and harassment against Dressel, as is she against him. The couple, who have separate lawyers, arrived at court together and left together.

McMenamin withdrew drug possesssion charges against Fiora that stemmed from officers searching the house after the couple were arrested.

Both defendants are scheduled for a court appearance in Norristown Jan. 4. They are free on bail; Judge Henry Schireson kept the bail amount at $10,000 each.