Matthew Marc Kennedy, 56, of Butler, is facing a second-degree felony strangulation charge and a second-degree misdemeanor assault charge after police said he choked a woman.

Butler police were dispatched to an apartment on North Main Street Wednesday, July 29, to investigate an assault. Police said they spoke to a woman who said Kennedy hit her on the back with a belt.

Police said Kennedy threw the woman on the bed, climbed on top of her and began choking her. She told police she could not breathe and Kennedy’s knee was pressing into her stomach.

Police said she struggled to escape Kennedy’s grasp and sustained a cut to the chin in the process.

Kennedy fled the apartment before police arrived but was spotted walking and was arrested on North Elm Street, police said.

Kennedy is currently held at Butler County Prison on $30,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is set for 11 a.m. Aug. 10 before District Judge William Fullerton.