Moses Lake man charged for allegedly choking wife

EPHRATA — A Moses Lake man was charged for allegedly choking his wife on Sunday.

Grant County prosecutors charged Neil Montgomery, 44, of Moses Lake, with second-degree assault in Grant County Superior Court.

About 6:50 p.m. on Sunday a Moses Lake Police Department officer responded to Samaritan Hospital in reference to an alleged physical altercation. A hospital employee said a woman was in the emergency room who wanted to report a physical incident that had occurred between her and her husband, Montgomery, according to police records.

The victim and suspect reportedly arrived at the hospital in a blue van, which the responding officer observed parked outside of the ER. The officer spotted a man and child in the van, with the male allegedly yelling at the child and eventually leave the scene on foot.

The officer contacted the victim, who reportedly had redness in her upper chest and lower neck areas. She stated she was at the hospital to visit a woman when she received numerous phone calls from her husband to come and pick him up because he was having trouble breathing.

She left the hospital and located Montgomery walking on the side of state Route 17, near Home Depot. When Montgomery got into the vehicle he allegedly began verbally abusing his wife as they were en route to Samaritan. The victim stated she received a phone call and Montgomery began accusing her of cheating on him.

She eventually pulled over the car on SR-17, between East Broadway Avenue and East Wheeler Road, and Montgomery demanded to see his wife’s phone. She reported throwing the phone out of the passenger side window, after which Montgomery allegedly leaned over and grabbed her with both of his hands around her neck and pressed her back into her seat.

“(The victim) advised she knew what was coming so she just relaxed. I asked (the victim) if she had troubles breathing or had lost consciousness,” wrote a officer. “(The victim) advised she ‘blacked out’ for approximately one second and had difficulties breathing. There was redness around her upper chest and lower portion of her neck.”

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.