CLARION TWP., Pa. (EYT) — A Tionesta man was arrested following an incident where he allegedly slapped and choked a woman during an altercation in Clarion Township.

Court documents indicate the Clarion-based State Police filed criminal charges against 21-year-old Mario Andres Marquez, of Tionesta.

According to a criminal complaint, around 9:30 a.m. on October 20, Trooper Owen, of the Clarion-based State Police, interviewed a known victim regarding an altercation at Robinwood Drive in Clarion Township.

The victim reported that she was involved in a verbal argument with Mario Marquez at the above-described location, and the argument turned physical when Marquez slapped her in the face twice with an open hand. When the victim attempted to call a relative, she reported that Marquez grabbed her by the throat and choked her to the point that she fell and struck her head on a nearby child’s play pen, the complaint indicates.

The victim stated that Marquez then took her phone so that she could not call anyone and he grabbed her by the neck again. Marquez then allowed her to leave the residence after she screamed until a neighbor came to the residence, the complaint indicates.

According to the complaint, the victim had a visible injury to her neck, as well as swelling above her eye where she struck it when she fell.

Marquez was arraigned at 6:30 p.m. on October 20, on the following charges:

– Strangulation — Applying Pressure to Throat or Neck, Felony 2
– False Imprisonment, Misdemeanor 2
– Simple Assault, Misdemeanor 2
– Harassment — Subject Other to Physical Contact, Summary

Unable to post $10,000.00 monetary bail, he was lodged in the Clarion County Jail.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled or 1:45 p.m. on Tuesday, October 29, with Judge Duane Quinn presiding.