A West Des Moines man was arrested Sunday after allegedly strangling a West Des Moines woman who fled the home in order to contact law enforcement.
Mark Joseph Willie, 39, of West Des Moines was charged was first-offense domestic abuse assault-impeding flow of air/blood.
The incident began about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, when officers of the West Des Moines Police Department responded to a gas station where the shoeless and injured victim “had fled to,” according to court records.
The officers made contact with the victim, who told the officers that Willie allegedly “put his hands around her mouth from behind” and “wrapped his arm around the victim’s neck from behind while they were on the ground,” according to court records.
The victim told the officers that she “pleaded for” Willie “to stop, lost consciousness and thought she was going to die,” according to court records.
The officers observed on the victim an “abrasion with swelling on her forehead” and “redness” and “bruising around her neck” and “on the inside of her arm,” according to court records. She “complained of neck pain” and “was transported to the hospital due to her injuries.”
Willie was held in the Dallas County Jail on a $5,000 cash or surety bond. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Sept. 9 in Dallas County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
