Butler man accused of choking woman
A Butler man with a history of domestic violence was arrested Wednesday on a felony warrant accusing him of choking his ex-girlfriend outside a city house where she was baby-sitting.
Jedediah L. Owens-Vickers, 26, is in the Butler County Prison on $10,000 bail.
Butler police said the 35-year-old victim told them she was at a home on the 500 block of West Brady Street around 4:20 p.m. Tuesday when she learned the defendant was circling the block in a car.
She went outside and asked Owens-Vickers what he was doing. She recounted that he got out of the vehicle and ran up to her, police said.
He grabbed her shirt with both hands, according to charging documents, “pushing upwards, picking (her) up off of the ground slightly.”
Police said the action impeded the woman's breathing for about 30 seconds with the shirt up against her neck. She told officers that she was in fear for her life.
On Wednesday, police obtained an arrest warrant for Owens-Vickers. He was arrested later that day.
District Judge Lewis Stoughton arraigned him around 9:30 p.m. on a felony charge of strangulation and a misdemeanor charge of simple assault.
Butler County court records showed Owens-Vickers has six prior convictions for simple assault in domestic cases between 2011 and 2016. The four most recent involved the same victim as Tuesday's incident.
He also is awaiting trial on charges stemming from a suspected shootout last year in Butler.
In that case, police said, Owens-Vickers allegedly traded shots with another man during an altercation April 5, 2018, on the 300 block of North Sixth Avenue. No injuries were reported.
He is accused of tossing the gun away after running off and not having a concealed carry permit.
Police later arrested him on charges of possessing a firearm without a carry license and tampering with physical evidence.
He was freed on his own recognizance in the case when he was arrested Wednesday.
