By Joe Bachman

A 27-year-old man faces charges of misdemeanor battery and strangulation after police say she choked a woman during an altercation.

Zebulon Leavitt, of Stevens Point, is charged with battery, strangulation and suffocation. According to police reports, on Mar. 7, 2016, an officer was dispatched to an area by the 400 block of 8th Ave. South in Wisconsin Rapids after reports of a domestic disturbance.

The officer arrived to the scene to hear a woman screaming, and observed Leavitt on top of the woman. Leavitt quickly got off the complainant before the officer ordered Leavitt to the ground.

A Sergeant reported the complainant was having a hard time breathing, coughing and gasping for air. According to the complainant, she was in an argument with Leavitt in their way to a residence, when Leavitt became angry and started yelling and hitting the steering wheel. After arriving at their destination, Leavitt got out and grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the ground outside of the car.

Leavitt allegedly hit her in the back and the head and started to choke her. The complainant stated that he told her they could go inside if she would quiet down. The officer on the scene observed a cut on the complainant’s nose, a scratch on her chest, and that her knee was bleeding.

If convicted, Leavitt faces up to six years imprisonment and up to $10,000 in fines. His arraignment is scheduled for Apr. 8.