An Ocala man is accused of strangling his recently estranged lady friend who found text messages from another woman on his cell phone.
Joseph Alan Zekeiel Lambcke was charged with felony domestic battery by strangulation after the incident, which happened Sunday night at a residence on SE 27th Street.
Ocala Police were informed by dispatch that the victim was trapped in her room and her ex was trying to kill her and wouldn’t let her leave. Upon arrival, officers observed the victim through the front bedroom window waving them into the house, according to the OPD report.
An officer opened the front door and told Lambcke to come out with his hands up. Lambcke was at the bottom of the stairwell with his hands up, and he was taken into custody, the report said.
The victim said she and Lambcke were at a bar earlier in the night when she noticed he had been texting all night, so she looked through his phone. She said Lambcke has cheated her on the past and she saw he was texting another woman. The victim said they started to argue and she thought it was best if they left the bar, according to the report.
The victim said when they got home, she told Lambcke she didn’t want to talk any more and that he could sleep on the couch while she slept upstairs. She said when she went to walk away, Lambcke grabbed her left arm, spun her around, grabbed her by the throat and applied pressure to her neck, obstructing her airway, the report said.
The victim said she wasn’t sure how she got away but she was able to lock herself in the bedroom until officers arrived. She said she and Lambcke were in an intimate relationship and lived together for about a year until last week. The officer observed a red mark around the victim’s neck that was consistent with her statement, according to the report.
Lambcke said he and the victim were in a relationship for about a year before they broke up and he moved out last week. His story matched the victim’s until the point where they got home. Lambcke said the victim yelled at him, ran upstairs and locked herself in the bedroom, and the next thing he knew police were there yelling for him to come out, the report said.
When asked if the altercation ever became physical, Lambcke said no. The officer told Lambcke that the victim said he choked her, and when asked if that was true, he said he didn’t know if he did. When the officer repeated back what he said, Lambcke said he did remember and didn’t do it, according to the report.
Due to the lack of consistency in Lambcke’s stories and the victim’s injuries, Lambcke was arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail. He was released Tuesday on $500 bond and is due in court on Feb. 4 at 9 a.m.