Casper Man Accused of Assaulting Woman as She Held Her Child
Casper police say a man assaulted a woman over the course of several days and in one instance caused the woman to suffer a dislocated shoulder last month.
And in another incident, police say 29-year-old Zachary Garrett Knigge pulled the woman to the ground as she was holding her child on her knee.
That's according to charging documents recently filed in Natrona County District Court last week.
Knigge is facing the felony charges of child abuse, witness intimidation and interference with custody. Child abuse is punishable by up to 10 years behind bars, $10,000 in fines or both, while the intimidation and interference charges are punishable by up to five years in prison.
Knigge is also facing misdemeanor charges of unlawful telephone calls and two charges of domestic battery.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Casper police were dispatched to a home in the 2000 block of South Beverly on June 9. There, they spoke with Knigge who said he was upset because the alleged victim was not answering his phone calls. Roughly an hour later, the woman was seen at Wyoming Medical Center for a dislocated shoulder.
The woman told officers that Knigge became "physical" after police left, but she did not report the incident, the affidavit states.
On June 10, police took a report that Knigge called the woman and said he was coming to her apartment to "smash her head in" after he had seen something on social media that angered him, according to court documents.
Police were again called to the apartment on June 20 for what a witness described as Knigge grabbing the woman by her hair, pulling her to the ground and dragging her a few feet, the affidavit states.
A detective listened to a corresponding 911 call in which Knigge is heard yelling at the woman to get into his car and the ensuing attack when the woman did not comply, according to court documents.
The woman reportedly described an incident to police in which Knigge punched her in her head. Knigge then allegedly grabbed the woman's child by the hand and stated something to the effect of "f--- her, we're leaving" and began to take the child downstairs. Knigge is not related to the child, nor does he have custody, court documents state.
According to the affidavit, the woman was holding her child on her knee when Knigge pulled her to the ground.
After the alleged incident, court documents state, the woman received additional profane and threatening messages from Knigge.
He has not had a chance to enter pleas to the charges and will do so during an arraignment in Natrona County District Court.
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