Man faces felony choking charges

A North Springfield man is facing felony charges after his wife reported to police that he repeatedly choked her in front of their young children to the point that she was coughing up blood.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150717/NEWS02/707179929

Published July 17, 2015 in the Rutland Herald Man faces felony choking charges By ERIC FRANCIS CORRESPONDENT WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A North Springfield man is facing felony charges after his wife reported to police that he repeatedly choked her in front of their young children to the point that she was coughing up blood. Westley Blake, 34, posted $2,500 bail over the weekend and appeared in court on Monday where he pleaded innocent to two felony counts of first degree aggravated domestic assault and two counts of violating a court-ordered condition. Springfield Police Corporal Walter Morancy said the victim ran to her father’s nearby home during the pre-dawn hours of Saturday morning and called for help. Morancy added that once officers arrived at Blake’s residence they were let inside the house by children who answered the door. Springfield Police Sgt. Greg Molgano said police called out repeatedly for Blake to no avail before searching the residence and eventually finding him trying to hide underneath a small bed with a young child sleeping on top of it. Sgt. Molgano said that Blake denied having assaulted his wife and said that the reason his knuckles were bleeding was because he had punched a wall. In her sworn written statement to police, the alleged victim said she was choked a half-dozen times during the argument, writing “It was very painful,” and rating the level of pain at seven on a 1-to-10 scale. She added, “This is the most violent he has ever been.” Blake was charged in April with one count of misdemeanor domestic assault, a case which is still pending, for allegedly grabbing his wife by the throat and hitting her several times in the face during a gathering in which several in-laws were present. Westley Blake pleaded innocent to that charge in April and the next day police said Blake’s wife returned to the police station and wrote out a new statement in which she recanted her accusations, writing that when she awoke the next morning she felt hung-over with a “foggy” memory of the events. “In my gut, I know that Westley didn’t hit me,” the alleged victim wrote at the time, adding that she had felt she had been pressured by the other witnesses the previous evening into writing her original sworn statement.