OCEAN
CITY – A New Jersey man was arrested on first-degree assault charges last
weekend after allegedly strangling his wife to the point she passed out.
Shortly
before 9 p.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD officer was
dispatched to a nightclub parking lot for a reported domestic assault during
which a female victim had been unconscious for an undetermined amount of time.
When the officer arrived, Ocean City Emergency Services were already speaking
with the victim, who was refusing any additional treatment.
The
victim told police her husband, later identified as Carlos G. Molina, 33, of
Egg Harbor Township, N.J., had "knocked her out." The victim told
police she and her husband were out at Seacrets earlier in the evening when she
left to walk back to the hotel at 56th Street to change clothes. The victim
said when she returned to where their car was parked, Molina met her there and
began to "freak out."
According
to the victim’s testimony, Molina grabbed her around the throat with boat hands
and began to strangle her while pushing her against the trunk of the vehicle,
at which point she lost consciousness. The victim told police the next thing
she remembered was Molina standing over her in the parking while trying to pick
her up. The victim said in her report the back of her head was hurting, which
is when she noticed the driver’s side mirror was broken.
OCPD
officers responded to the couple’s motel room on 56th Street to search for
Molina, but he was not located immediately. A short time later, another OCPD
officer was informed by Seacrets’ security a man matching Molina’s description
was inside the nightclub.
With
the help of Seacrets’ security staff, Molina was located inside the nightclub
and was arrested without further incident. Molina was charged with first- and
second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. He was taken before a District
Court Commissioner and was ordered held on a $20,000 bond. He was released on
Sunday after posting bail. A preliminary hearing has been set for Aug. 20.