A Pleasantville man was arrested Saturday after allegedly strangling a woman in rural Adel and smashing her cell phone.
James Lee Mensing, 49, of 302 S. Highway 5, Pleasantville, was charged with domestic abuse assault impeding air/blood flow-causing bodily injury, obstruction of emergency communications and fifth-degree criminal mischief.
The incident began about 7:45 a.m. Saturday at a residence in the 25400 block of J Avenue in rural Adel, where Dallas County Deputy Sheriffs responded to a report of a domestic disturbance.
The deputies made contact with the victim, who told the deputies that Mensing allegedly “grabbed her by the arm and hair, leaving several visible red marks, and spit in her
face two times,” according to court records.
The victim told the deputies that Mensing then allegedly “drug the victim out of the bedroom and across the living room” and “choked her” until she “blacked out,” according to court records.
The deputies observed on the victim “visible red marks on her neck,” according to court records.
Mensing admitted “to breaking the phone” of the victim and “smashed it, rendering it useless,” in order to prevent her calling 911.
Mensing is held in the Dallas County Jail on an $5,000 cash or surety bond. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing May 14 in Dallas County District Court.
Mensing was convicted of domestic abuse assault in 1999 in Wapello District Court. He was convicted of assault in 2016 in Polk County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
