RACINE — A 43-year-old Mount Pleasant man with a lengthy criminal past faces three more criminal charges after his arrest on April 7 in Racine.
In the new case against Avery Thomas Jr., he is charged with felony strangulation and suffocation, along with misdemeanor counts of battery and disorderly conduct.
The felony carries a maximum prison term of six years and a $10,000 fine.
The criminal complaint: Strangulation, suffocation, battery
Racine Police responded to the 3900 block of Erie Street on April 7, where they met with a woman, who stated she had been assaulted by the defendant.
Police observed swelling and a red mark on the woman’s forehead. She stated that Thomas Jr. walked into her room with a knife in his hand and threatened to kill her, then punched her in the head several times.
At one point, the woman said the defendant put both of his hands around her neck and applied pressure, which made it difficult to breathe. Thomas Jr. then allegedly choked her a second time and pushed the woman to the floor twice during the incident.
Court records lay out a lengthy criminal past for the defendant, who most recently was convicted in Racine County Circuit Court in 2018 of two felony counts of manufacturing/delivering heroin, one felony count of manufacturing/delivering cocaine, felony possession of narcotic drugs and felony possession of cocaine.
Thomas Jr. has eight convictions, and 18 incarcerations in the last 28 years
Thomas Jr. has eight other criminal convictions that date back to 1995, court records show, and he has been incarcerated on 18 separate occasions in the past 28 years, or since he was 15.
Thomas, who remains in custody in the Racine County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond, is due back in court on June 2 for an 8:30 a.m. status hearing.
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