Casper Man Arrested After Allegedly Knocking Man Unconscious, Strangling Woman
Two people were taken to a hospital Sunday after a man allegedly knocked one of them unconscious and reportedly strangled the other.
John David Lorenzoni, 34, was arrested for aggravated assault, domestic battery and strangulation of a household member.
Police officer went to a home on East 11th Street at about 3:15 p.m. Sunday after someone called 911 and said Lorenzoni had knocked a man unconscious.
Lorenzoni met the responding officer at the door. He was apparently agitated, according to the affidavit, with one hand clenched into a fist. The officer reportedly saw blood on Lorenzoni's left hand and scrapes on his knuckles.
Lorenzoni immediately began saying things about how he had been defending himself. The officer asked where the male victim was, and Lorenzoni reportedly said "on the floor" as he looked toward a bedroom.
The officer found the male victim with "substantial" injuries on his face and head. The man's left eye was swollen completely shut, his forehead was scraped and bleeding, his left ear was severely swollen and his scalp and the sides of his head were scraped and bleeding in several places.
Officers noted no defensive wounds on the male victim's hands.
A female victim who was allegedly strangled was put into a neck brace.
Police learned the female victim picked the male victim up from jail earlier in the day and took him back to her place, where they each had a couple of drinks. Lorenzoni was reportedly at the residence as well, where he had been drinking all day.
The female victim had recently served Lorenzoni with an eviction notice, so the two began to argue. The male victim later came into the room and told Lorenzoni he needed to be nicer.
Lorenzoni then allegedly began pushing the male victim, who retreated into a bedroom. Lorenzoni followed him and pushed him to the floor, where Lorenzoni jumped on top of the man and repeatedly punched him in the face.
According to an affidavit, Lorenzoni then stood up and started kicking the male victim in the head. His kicks knocked the man unconscious, but Lorenzoni didn't stop.
The woman tried to stop Lorenzoni, but he pushed her into a walk-in closet before grabbing her around the neck with both hands and strangling her until she passed out.
She later told police she thought Lorenzoni was "going to kill her."
The woman regained consciousness some 15 seconds later and tried unsuccessfully to wake the male victim, who was still unconscious.
Lorenzoni had reportedly broken the woman's cell phone, so she ran to a neighbor's house to call police.
She got to the front porch and started pounding on the front door, but Lorenzoni caught up to her. He allegedly grabbed her by her hair and dragged her across the front yard. The woman was able to get away and call police from the neighbor's house.
Police spoke to the male victim, but he couldn't remember anything. Police believe his lack of memory may have resulted from the alleged assault.
Lorenzoni told police the alleged victims attacked him and he "just started swinging." He maintained his actions were in self-defense.
When asked whether he had kicked the male victim while he was on the floor, Lorenzoni reportedly said he may have "kneed" the man in the chest and jaw.
Lorenzoni was arrested. He reportedly refused to provide a breath sample to police.