By Joe Johnson
An Athens man was arrested over the weekend for allegedly strangling his girlfriend and committing other offenses during a domestic dispute at their home on Tara Way, Athens-Clarke County police said.
Christopher Lewis Poss, 36, was charged with aggravated assault, kidnapping, false imprisonment, family violence simple battery, failure to keep a domestic animal under control, criminal trespass/interference with property, violation of bond, and obstruction of a 911 call, according to a police report.
Police responded to the couple’s home at about 3:20 p.m. Saturday on a complaint by the 39-year-old victim that she and Poss had been involved in a domestic altercation, according to the report.
The report did not contain details of what happened.
However, Lt. John Bradford, the acting police public information officer, provided this summary of events:
“The male dragged the female into the house, resulting in the kidnapping/false imprisonment charge. He kept her from calling 911, she eventually got away, and called from a neighbor’s house. They have a dog that likes to run off, he let that dog out on purpose, thus the charge for animal off leash.
“The aggravated assault charge related to choking her. He was already the subject of a family violence court order with this victim,” Radford said.
Poss on Tuesday morning remained at the Clarke County Jail, without bail being set.
Anyone who is in an abusive relationship can seek advice and services by calling Project Safe’s 24-hour hotline at (706) 543-3331, or by visiting http://www.project-safe.org.