A 35-year-old Reddick man was arrested by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office after a female neighbor accused him of attacking her and holding a knife against her throat.
On Tuesday, an MCSO deputy responded to a residence located on N U.S. 441 in Reddick in reference to a physical disturbance. Upon arrival, the deputy made contact with the female victim who stated that a neighbor, identified as Joseph Lee Stengline, had attacked her while she was walking her dog.
According to the victim, she was walking her dog on 190th Street when Stengline allegedly grabbed her, pulled her hair, held a knife to her throat, and told her that she was “too pretty not to play with.”
The victim told the deputy that she felt a cut on her throat when she attempted to push away from Stengline. She advised that she was able to get away from Stengline and she ran to another neighbor’s home to contact law enforcement.
In the MCSO report, the deputy noted that the victim’s throat had a minor cut that was not bleeding.
The deputy located Stengline on 190th Street and made contact with him. Stengline claimed that nothing had happened with the victim. According to Stengline, the victim’s boyfriend had confronted him about an issue, and everything was “handled” after they smoked a cigarette.
After being read his Miranda rights, Stengline stated that he had also contacted 911 to report the incident with the victim because he “knew this was a set up.” He claimed that he never touched the victim, and he added that the victim’s story was “made up.”
The deputy conducted a pat-down search of Stengline and was unable to locate a knife.
The victim’s boyfriend was interviewed by the deputy and advised that there have been issues with Stengline over money that was owed and “drug deals that went bad.” He told the deputy that he had spoken with Stengline prior to the arrival of law enforcement, and he initially ran when MCSO arrived on scene because he “didn’t want any trouble.”
The deputy interviewed a male witness who stated that the victim had pounded on his door and was crying for help. The witness advised that the victim was claiming that she had been attacked, and the witness let the victim use a phone to contact law enforcement and her boyfriend.
When the deputy conducted another interview with Stengline, he confirmed that he had issues with the victim’s boyfriend. According to Stengline, the victim’s boyfriend had previously shorted him on drugs and had attempted to steal his money.
Stengline admitted that he had previously threatened the victim’s boyfriend with a knife several months prior to the incident involving the victim, but he stated that he had never pulled a knife on the victim.
Stengline was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $5,000 bond. He is facing a felony charge for aggravated battery.
A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.