LANCASTER, PA—Franklin Gillis Jr., a 36-year-old resident of Lancaster, has been convicted of multiple charges including strangulation, terroristic threats, and simple assault. The conviction followed a two-day trial that concluded on June 7 before Lancaster County Judge Thomas Sponaugle.
The incident, which occurred in July 2023 on the 700 block of Third Street, led to Gillis’s arrest after the jury deliberated for approximately three hours. During the trial, Assistant District Attorney Jaimes Spring introduced evidence including a 911 dispatch call which recorded around ten minutes of the altercation. The audio captured Gillis making numerous threats, such as threatening to punch and bite the victim and to make the victim “as bald as he was.”
The victim reported suffering from a variety of injuries including a black eye, braids ripped from the scalp, and knots on the forehead. In his defense, Gillis testified that he never threatened the victim and claimed that the victim’s hair was the cause of the black eye.
Following his conviction, Judge Sponaugle increased Gillis’s bail to $200,000 as he awaits further trial on separate charges, including DUI and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.
