RACINE, WI – A man who beat his girlfriend was charged Tuesday by the Racine County District Attorney’s Office with a series of domestic violence charges.
Nicholas Gonzales, 29, of Racine, was charged with:
- THC possession
- Carrying a concealed weapon
- Resisting or obstructing an officer
- Criminal property damage
- Disorderly conduct
- Possession of drug paraphernalia
- Taking and driving a vehicle without consent
- Battery
- Attempted strangulation and suffocation
- Stalking – Result in bodily harm
If convicted of all charges, Gonzales faces up to 28 years four months in prison and/or fined up to $82,000.
Police respond to home numerous times
According to the criminal complaint, authorities from the Racine Police Department answered a call for civil trouble at 7:57 pm on August 1 at a residence in Racine.
During the first incident, the woman said she was fine and that Gonzales was already gone. The woman called the authorities again at 8:30 pm, letting them know that he had returned and was breaking things inside the home. She told authorities that she wanted nothing more than Gonzales to leave the property, which he did.
According to the authorities, they responded a third time around 9:50 pm and discovered that a television had been broken. Officer Lyle watched as Gonzales left in a 2003 blue Pontiac. The woman once again said that he only wanted Gonzales to retire and nothing else.
Gonzales cut off electricity and beat his girlfriend, DA says
At 10:50 pm Officer Lyle was again dispatched to the victim’s residence. She reported that the defendant had returned and refused to give him the keys to the Pontiac. The victim did not give her consent for him to take the vehicle and wanted it returned. The defendant then went to the basement of the residence and removed the fuses for the victim’s home, leaving her without electricity.
The woman told police “she located the defendant’s firearm hidden under the driver’s seat of the vehicle,” according to the complaint.
A few days later the woman told police about an assault that had taken place. She said Gonzales threw her onto the floor several times, grabbed her throat, and squeezed for several seconds.
“She either struck him (Gonzales) or kneed him to break his grasp…then (he) approached her again and open hand slapped her on the right side of her face with his left hand,” the complaint reads.
Police noted that the woman had numerous bruises.
Racine County Court Commissioner Alice Rudebusch set a bond of $750 and a status hearing for 9:30 a.m. Sept. 2.
Need help, check out the NAMI support group or these mental health resource pages.
