Dec 8, 2017 By Messenger Staff 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – A Sycamore man was arrested following allegations that he strangled and assaulted his ex-girlfriend during a domestic dispute that occurred at his Patterson Creek Road residence last week.

State police said Travis M. King, 22, was charged with a felony count of strangulation and a misdemeanor count of simple assault following the incident that occurred on Nov. 30.

According to the criminal complaint filed in the office of Senior Magisterial District Judge Jesse Cramer, King went to the state police station in Waynesburg on Dec. 1 to report that he had been involved in a dispute with the ex-girlfriend at 3 p.m. Nov. 30.

King told police that the woman showed up at his residence with an infant child and he asked to see her cell phone, which she allowed; he said he was going through the phone when the woman ran into his house, and he went in after her, the complaint states.

King then reported that when he got to the door the woman was standing in the doorway with a gun pointed at him, and at that point he threw the woman down to the ground to get the gun off of her, the complaint states.

King then said the woman ran back to her vehicle and left the residence, police said.

King told police he did not call 911 or report the incident the day before because he “did not know what to do,” and decided on Dec. 1 that he should report the incident, the complaint states.

Police later interviewed the woman, who reported a different take on what happened. According to the complaint, she told police that she went to King’s residence because he owed her money, and while she was sitting in her vehicle King asked to see her phone; after she refused to let him see her phone, she said King said he would not give her the money he owed her until after he saw her phone, and he then reached into her vehicle and took the phone off of her, the complaint states.

The woman then reported that while they were fighting over the phone King hit her in the jaw and then threw her phone over a hill; she said she recovered her phone and then went into the residence to get her belongings that were inside, at which point King shoved her down onto a couch, causing her to hit her head on a wooden object, the complaint states.

The woman then told police that she pushed King off of her, but he threw her to the ground and started choking her, and when she got to the point that she could no longer breathe she reached for a gun that was on the floor; she then said King saw her attempting to get the gun and let her go, the complaint states.

The woman then told police she got up and punched King and then attempted to leave the residence but King kept pushing her so she could not leave; however, she said she was able to push her way free and left the residence, the complaint states.

Police said the woman provided photographs of her injuries, and investigating officers said they observed redness to her neck and a bruise to her right arm, the complaint states.

Following King’s arrest, his preliminary hearing was tentatively scheduled to be held before Cramer on Dec. 7; information regarding the preliminary hearing was not made available to the Messenger by press time.

King is free on bail after posting a $5,000 straight cash bond.