A Scranton woman told police her boyfriend choked her during a dispute over the use of a vehicle, causing her to feel like she was drowning and unable to breath, according to a criminal complaint.
Yeferson Varela, 723 S. Irving Ave, faces a felony charge of strangulation, as well as a misdemeanor charges of simple assault.
According to the criminal complaint, city police were called to the home at about 10 p.m. on Aug. 1 for the report of someone, later identified as Varela, refusing to return a vehicle to its owners.
When police arrived, they spoke with Yanary Hernandez who said Varela, 25, refused to return her brother’s vehicle. But, officers determined the incident was a civil dispute rather than a criminal matter. Hernandez told officers the argument originally stemmed from an earlier incident during which Varela threw her against a wall and choked her.
Officers noted scratches on Hernandez’s neck and chest.
Hernandez’s two children said they were in another room when they heard a loud bang followed by their mother yelling. The two called for their older brother to help.
The older sibling told police he had seen Varela with both hands around his mother’s neck and had stepped in to intervene.
He told police Varela tried to punch him, but missed and then left the residence.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Sept. 28 before District Judge Joanne Corbett.