Mountlake Terrace man held for alleged assault of girlfriend

EVERETT — A Mountlake Terrace man has been jailed for investigation of first-degree domestic violence assault after allegedly choking his girlfriend and sticking a rifle barrel in her mouth.

An Everett District Court judge on Wednesday set bail at $100,000 for the suspect, 22.

A neighbor at the apartment complex in the 26100 block of 60th Ave. W called 911 Tuesday night to report hearing a woman’s screams.

Police wrote in an affidavit that they could hear a man inside say that he was going to kill another person in the apartment with him.

When officers knocked on the door, the suspect answered and calmly told officers there had been a verbal argument, nothing more.

Police then talked to a woman, 29, who was crying and hyperventilating. The woman’s face and neck were swollen and red.

She told police that she had taken money from the suspect’s wallet earlier in the day to pay a phone bill. When he discovered the money was missing, he became angry and began hitting her, according to allegations contained in a police affidavit.

The woman told police the suspect then pushed her into a bedroom and pinned her down while their 3-year-old son was in the room.

The suspect then allegedly retrieved an SKS semiautomatic rifle from the closet and removed it from the case. The woman told police the suspect put the barrel of the rifle in her mouth and said, “Anyone who steals from me dies.”

After putting the rifle down, the man allegedly began choking and hitting the woman until police arrived.

“It was pretty serious,” Mountlake Terrace police Cmdr. Doug Hansen said. “She not only got punched and had injuries to her face, she got strangled almost to the point of unconsciousness. She described seeing stars.”

Police found the rifle in the bedroom closet. It was not loaded, according to police reports.

“When he got the gun out, she was afraid he as going to kill her,” Hansen said.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com