Police: Local man arrested for attempting to strangle woman

A 31-year-old Grace resident was recently arrested after police say he attempted to strangle a local woman during an incident at a home in Chubbuck on July 27.

Jonathan Mendoza has been charged with one felony count of attempted strangulation following the incident.

Police officers were dispatched to a Chubbuck home around 9 p.m. on July 27 for the report of a physical disturbance between a man, later identified as Mendoza. and a woman, according to police and court records the Idaho State Journal recently obtained.

Upon arrival, officers interviewed the woman involved who said that Mendoza was attempting to leave the residence with a child while intoxicated, the report says.

When the woman confronted him, Mendoza pushed her up against a sink and held one of his hands on her throat for about seven seconds, police said.

The woman said that she did not lose consciousness but she was in fear for her safety during the incident, according to the report.

Officers noted that the woman had a red mark along her throat and a broken blood vessel near her collarbone, police said.

When officers interviewed Mendoza he said that the only physical aspect of the altercation was the woman slapping and pushing him, adding that the woman typically makes things up about him.

Mendoza would not further cooperate with officers and was subsequently charged, arrested and booked inside the Bannock County Jail in Pocatello.

He appeared in front of 6th District Magistrate Judge David Hooste for an arraignment hearing on July 29, during which his bond was set at $10,000. He was later ordered to be released from jail on his own recognizance on Thursday, court records show.

Mendoza is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 12, which will involve local prosecutors attempting to prove there is enough evidence against him to elevate the case from the magistrate to district court level for trial.

If convicted of the felony attempted strangulation charge, he faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.