Christopher Stivason

BUTLER TWP — A township man was arrested Friday morning on charges he dragged his girlfriend out of a car and choked her, township police said.

Christopher A. Stivason, 28, is facing felony assault and other charges stemming from the suspected domestic dispute shortly after 1 a.m. at his home on Pittsburgh Road in Lyndora.

He is in the Butler County Prison on $10,000 bail.

The alleged victim, 28-year-old Amanda Eddington of Butler Township, told police that she and Stivason were at a bar earlier that night and after they drove home, he became angry.

He got mad, according to court documents, after he saw a text message from another man on Eddington's cell phone.

She recounted that the defendant pulled her from the driver's seat of the car and threw her to the ground at least two times, police said.

She tried to get away but Stivason grabbed her and strangled her with his hands until “she felt like she was going to pass out," documents said.

Eddington eventually managed to get onto the porch and call 911.

According to the police report, Stivason admitted that he assaulted his girlfriend. “I pushed her down and I choked her,” he told officers, according to a police affidavit.

Police described Eddington's injuries as cuts to both elbows and redness around the neck.

District Judge Sue Haggerty arraigned Stivason on charges of aggravated assault, public drunkenness and harassment.