Inset: Jesus Arturo Guerrero-Martinez appears in court (KOLD). Background: The Pima County Adult Detention Center in Tucson, Ariz. (Google Maps).
An Arizona man is behind bars after repeatedly strangling his girlfriend, including once while he was being watched, according to law enforcement in the Grand Canyon State.
Jesus Arturo Guerrero-Martinez, 30, stands accused of two counts of domestic violence – aggravated assault as well as one count each of kidnapping and aggravated assault with a simulated weapon, according to the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
The defendant was arrested on April 30, by members of the Tucson Police Department. He appeared in court later that same night.
The incident began when the defendant accused his girlfriend of trying to break his laptop, according to an interim complaint obtained by Tucson-based CBS affiliate KOLD and NBC affiliate KVOA.
The woman admittedly had the laptop in her possession because she wanted to watch a movie, police said. But, hoping to avoid a fight, returned the man's device, according to the complaint.
Still the confrontation came, authorities say.
On the way back to the living room, Guerrero-Martinez allegedly grabbed the woman by the throat and dragged her into the bedroom.
In the bedroom, the defendant threw his girlfriend on the bed, got on top of her, and then used his hands and forearm to strangle her a second time, according to the charging document.
At some point, amid the strangulation, however, the woman was able to call her mother on FaceTime, police said. The woman's mother later told police she saw Guerrero-Martinez strangling her daughter on the screen, which prompted her to drive over to the apartment.
The alleged victim also told police that the defendant hit her multiple times in the face, according to the interim complaint.
Eventually, after various efforts to extricate herself from the situation, the woman was able to break free and get out of the bedroom, police said. When the woman escaped, Guerrero-Martinez pulled out what she thought was a gun and allegedly threatened her.
As it turned out, the purported firearm was actually just a metal flashlight that simulated a gun, according to the complaint, citing the results of a search warrant executed by law enforcement.
The defendant spoke up once during the investigation to say the incident described by the woman did not, in fact, happen, police claim.
In court on Thursday night, a prosecutor alleged the defendant "has previously tried to kill the victim, has previously threatened to kill the victim, and has previously strangled the victim."
Guerrero-Martinez, for his part, kept mum while his attorney did the talking, according to footage of the hearing obtained by KOLD.
The defendant is currently detained in the Pima County Adult Detention Center on $150,000 bond, jail records show.