A Weirsdale man was arrested after a neighbor reported that he battered a woman during an argument.
Joseph William Wise III, 50, of South Highway 25, was charged with domestic battery (second or subsequent offense) and domestic battery by strangulation after the incident, which happened around 2 a.m. Monday at Wise’s residence.
The neighbor told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy she could hear the couple arguing from inside her residence. She said shortly after she heard the yelling, she got a call from the victim, who said Wise had struck her in the face and choked her, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The neighbor said she walked over to the home, saw the victim had a red mark on her neck, and got into an argument with Wise before calling 911. She said the victim has told her of other incidents in the past where Wise has been physical with her, the report said.
Wise told the deputy he and the victim had a verbal argument and that it never became physical. He said the neighbor just wanted to get him in trouble. The officer observed what appeared to be a fresh scratch on the front of Wise’s bicep, which he said he got from working earlier in the day, according to the report.
The victim was clearly distraught as she spoke to the deputy. She initially said she was fine, and that Wise didn’t put his hands on her. However, she later said he did slap her in the face with an open hand. The deputy observed the victim’s neck was read all the way around. When he asked her about it, she became silent, the report said.
The deputy talked to the victim about Wise’s alleged history of violence towards her and she finally admitted Wise wrapped his arm around her neck for more than 10 seconds and squeezed enough for her to become dizzy. She said she scratched at Wise to get him off and he released his grip shortly before the neighbor came to the residence, according to the report.
The deputy observed the victim’s eyes were bloodshot, which could be an indication of strangulation. The victim said she was seeing stars when Wise had her by the throat. She said she didn’t want to tell the deputy what happened because she was afraid for Wise to go to jail, the report said.
When Wise was being placed under arrest, he told the deputy he was the victim because the victim pushed him and that is how he got the scratch on his arm. The deputy didn’t observe any other marks on him, according to the report.
Wise was lodged in the Marion County Jail, where he was being held Wednesday on $10,000 bond. He’ll appear in Marion County Court on July 30.