By Patti Weaver
STILLWATER — A Stillwater man has been freed on $10,000 bond on a felony charge alleging he choked his pregnant girlfriend, who told an officer she returned to his apartment after staying at a domestic violence shelter because he promised he would change, according to court documents.
Dennis Carson Henley, 45, has been ordered to have no contact with the woman and to appear in court June 5 on a two-count charge, including interfering with an emergency phone call, punishable by a total of four years of incarceration on conviction.
Stillwater Police Officer Byron Goree, who arrested Henley, had been sent at 6:22 pm on April Fool’s Day to an apartment “in reference to a domestic assault involving strangulation,” according to his affidavit.
“Upon arrival, I observed a male matching the suspect description standing outside the residence. As I approached, Henley turned away from me, raised his hands, and stated, ‘Just take me to jail, she’s going to say I hit her.’
“Henley admitted he and (his girlfriend) had argued and claimed she had tripped and fallen into a TV, a statement (she) later denied,” the officer alleged in his affidavit.
Inside the apartment, the woman “was visibly upset and informed me she was pregnant and under medical restrictions due to a recent hemorrhaging episode. She stated that earlier in the day, she and Dennis began arguing after she refused to eat food that he prepared due to his failure to wash his hands.
“(She) reported that Dennis became enraged, threw the food outside, and then returned to the apartment and threw the pan across the room.
“She stated that she was standing in the bedroom doorway when Dennis pushed her out of the way, lifted her off the ground, and forced her down. When she said she was going to call the police and began unlocking her phone, Dennis jumped on her back, grabbed the phone out of her hand, and threw it onto the bed out of her reach.
“(She) reported that Dennis then wrapped his arm tightly around her neck and began to squeeze. She described the hold as a chokehold and said she fell forward onto her stomach with Dennis still on her back. (She) stated she could hear her neck cracking, had difficulty breathing, and feared for her life.
“During the act, Dennis said, ‘Since you’re gonna call the f……cops on me, let’s just f…… do this,’ which caused her to believe he intended to seriously harm or kill her. Dennis eventually stopped the assault, left the room, gathered his belongings, and exited the apartment. (She) then retrieved her phone and called 911,” the affidavit alleged.
“At the scene, I observed redness around (her) neck and a small abrasion on her left elbow, consistent with her statement of being thrown to the ground. (She) elected to be transported by LifeNet EMS to Stillwater Medical Center for medical evaluation of herself and her unborn child.
“While following up with (her) at the hospital, she informed me that she had only recently returned to Dennis’s apartment after staying approximately two weeks at Wings of Hope Domestic Violence Shelter due to a prior, undocumented domestic incident. She stated she had returned because Dennis promised he would change.
“While at the emergency room, I observed additional injuries on (her) body, including scrapes, cuts and bruising to her knees, which she said occurred when Dennis forced her down during the assault. I provided her with a Wings of Hope resource card and advised her of her rights as a victim,” the officer alleged in his affidavit.
