Andrew Hoy

A Butler County man was sentenced to a maximum of 3½ years in jail Thursday in five cases, including one in which he choked his girlfriend nearly unconscious and then, in another case, calling that same woman from jail in an attempt “to get the charges thrown out,” according to recordings made last year in Butler County Prison.

“You need to start listening to me! Tell the judge you want it dropped!” Andrew Jameel Hoy, 24, told the victim.

For the calls, Hoy was sentenced to 1 to 2 years in jail after pleading guilty Jan. 14 to intimidating a witness. After serving his jail sentence, he will be on probation for one year.

Hoy received credit for time served since he was jailed on Jan. 17 2018, when police arrested him for choking his girlfriend to the point of near unconsciousness during a domestic dispute at their apartment on West Jefferson Street.

The victim told police that Hoy grabbed her by the throat, threw her on the bed and strangled her. Officers said the woman suffered injuries to her neck and face during the altercation.

Hoy was arraigned on felony charges of aggravated assault and strangulation and a misdemeanor charge of simple assault, and placed in the county prison on $75,000 bail.

Five days later, investigators said, he made his first jailhouse call to the victim. More would follow.

In the strangling case, Hoy pleaded guilty to simple assault and strangulation on Jan. 14 and was sentenced to 3 to 6 months for each charge, a term that will run separately from the other jail sentence.

But that was not all for Hoy. He pleaded guilty to various crimes in three other cases.

While in jail this summer, Hoy hit another inmate on the back with a tray. Detectives said the assault was captured on video surveillance. Hoy pleaded guilty to the charge of simple assault Jan. 14 and was sentenced Thursday to 3 to 6 months in jail to be served separately from the other jail sentences.

In one case dating back to 2017, Hoy was sentenced to 3 to 6 months after pleading guilty on Oct. 30 2018, to terroristic threats and simple assault. For this sentence, his time will be served while he serves time in the other cases. This case also involved the assault of a woman identified by police as his girlfriend. Butler police said he threatened her with a knife after punching and choking her.

Police began their investigation in March 2017 after they got a call around 5 p.m. for two men fighting at the Dunkin' Donuts parking lot on North Main Street, according to court documents.

Hoy, it turned out, was one of the combatants, police said. The other was the victim's father, who, according to a police affidavit, confronted Hoy “about his abusive relationship with (his) daughter.”