A 24-year-old Casa Grande man was arrested for strangling and assaulting his girlfriend on Saturday, the 3rd. On Sunday the 4th, he was released on his own recognizance, attempted to contact the victim and was found in the victim’s home, hiding in her shower as he attempted to evade arrest.
On Sat., Jan. 3, 2015 at approximately 7:52 p.m., Pinal County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a report of a violent assault at a residence near the intersection of N. Tuzigoot Dr. and W. Val Vista Rd. in Casa Grande, AZ. Upon arriving, Deputies found the victim had been assaulted and strangled by her live-in boyfriend, Joshua Harrison, age 24. Due to the strangulation, Detectives responded to conduct the investigation.
During the investigation, the victim reported she and Harrison had an argument over a lottery ticket. She reported he punched her in the face, knocked her to the ground, and choked her for several seconds. The victim said she could not breathe and felt as if her eyes were going to pop out of her head. The victim reported she was finally able to get him away from her when she kicked him the groin-area, and then retreated to another bedroom, after which he attempted tried to break down the door.
Detectives also interviewed other residents of the house, who reported that
they heard the victim screaming for Harrison to get off of her. One resident, who claims to be hard of hearing, said she could hear the victim screaming, despite being in her room with the television turned up and her dog barking.
The victim was transported for a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) exam and a forensic nurse found the victim’s injuries to be consistent with strangulation.
Harrison denied hitting or injuring the victim. Deputies state he had defensive wounds as well as swelling and redness on his hands, consistent with having punched someone.
Harrison was booked into the Pinal County Jail on charges of Aggravated Assault – Strangulation, Threatening and Intimidating, Criminal Damage, and Disorderly Conduct. Each of the counts was identified as Domestic Violence.
On Sun., Jan. 4, 2015, Harrison was seen by a judge and released on his own recognizance. He was ordered by the court to not return to the scene of the crime nor have contact with the victim. At about 11:45 p.m.,
Detectives were driving the victim to a domestic violence shelter when Joshua called the Detective’s cell phone acting as if he were her brother. Detectives and Deputies returned to Harrison’s home and found him hiding in the shower to avoid arrest. Harrison was rebooked into the Pinal County Sheriff’s Jail for violating the conditions of his release. He is now being held on a $5,000 secured bond.
Sheriff Babeu stated, “After being ordered by the court to not have contact with the victim, the suspect had the gall to find the Detectives phone number, call and pose as the victim’s brother, ask her to drop the charges and then hope we wouldn’t re-arrest him – at the scene of the crime. This victim is fortunate she was able to and did fight back. Strangulation is a crime that is literally moments away from being a homicide.”