Man Allegedly Strangles Girlfriend in Front of Her Mother, Police Report

In Arizona, a man is now in custody following multiple incidents of strangling his girlfriend, including an episode when he was witnessed by others, as reported by authorities in the state.

Jesus Arturo Guerrero-Martinez, aged 30, faces charges involving two counts of domestic violence for aggravated assault, along with charges of kidnapping and aggravated assault using a simulated weapon, as outlined by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.

Members of the Tucson Police Department apprehended Guerrero-Martinez on April 30, with an initial court appearance occurring later that evening.

The situation unfolded after the accused alleged his girlfriend was attempting to damage his laptop, according to a temporary complaint sourced by Tucson’s CBS affiliate KOLD and NBC affiliate KVOA.

The woman acknowledged having the laptop, as she intended to watch a film, according to police reports. She returned the laptop to the defendant in an effort to prevent any further confrontation, as noted in the complaint.

Still the confrontation came, authorities say.

On the way back to the living room, Guerrero-Martinez allegedly grabbed the woman by the throat and dragged her into the bedroom.

In the bedroom, the defendant threw his girlfriend on the bed, got on top of her, and then used his hands and forearm to strangle her a second time, according to the charging document.

At some point, amid the strangulation, however, the woman was able to call her mother on FaceTime, police said. The woman’s mother later told police she saw Guerrero-Martinez strangling her daughter on the screen, which prompted her to drive over to the apartment.

The alleged victim also told police that the defendant hit her multiple times in the face, according to the interim complaint.

Eventually, after various efforts to extricate herself from the situation, the woman was able to break free and get out of the bedroom, police said. When the woman escaped, Guerrero-Martinez pulled out what she thought was a gun and allegedly threatened her.

As it turned out, the purported firearm was actually just a metal flashlight that simulated a gun, according to the complaint, citing the results of a search warrant executed by law enforcement.

The defendant spoke up once during the investigation to say the incident described by the woman did not, in fact, happen, police claim.

In court on Thursday night, a prosecutor alleged the defendant “has previously tried to kill the victim, has previously threatened to kill the victim, and has previously strangled the victim.”

Guerrero-Martinez, for his part, kept mum while his attorney did the talking, according to footage of the hearing obtained by KOLD.

The defendant is currently detained in the Pima County Adult Detention Center on $150,000 bond, jail records show.