Sweetwater County Man Pleads Not Guilty to Strangulation, Unlawful Entry
A Sweetwater County man charged with felony counts of strangulation and unlawful entry pleaded not guilty Thursday in Albany County District Court.
Noah Newman was also charged with five misdemeanor counts: interference with an emergency call, battery, property destruction, stalking and domestic battery. If convicted on all the counts, he faces up to 17 years in prison and $13,750 in fines.
According to court documents, on Nov. 25, a Laramie Police Officer was dispatched to a Laramie residence for a call that a man had broken into a house and was breaking items in the residence. The officer was told in route that the man was hitting a woman who was at the residence.
The officer arrived on scene and found Newman, who was visibly upset and screaming that he had caught his wife sleeping with his friend, court documents state.
The officer interviewed the victim, who said she was Newman’s ex-wife. She said the two had been divorced on Nov. 17. The victim said she was in Colorado over Thanksgiving and had agreed to a custody exchange of their small child on Nov. 24, while she stayed in Laramie. The victim said she was staying at the home of her male friend.
According to the affidavit, the victim told the officer that Newman burst into the home she was staying in, screaming obscenities. She said Newman came into the bedroom where she and her male friend were. She said Newman began punching the man, before turning on her, hitting her. She said she and her male friend tried to get away from Newman, who strangled her multiple times. At one point, she said, she got away from him long enough to try to call police, but Newman grabbed her cell phone, threw it on the ground and stomped on it. Another roommate who was in the house at the time was able to call police.
The officer saw the victim had redness on her neck, the side of her face, the center of her upper chest and behind her ears.
Newman is out on a $25,000 signature bond. His trial is set for June 27-29.