Casper Man Arrested for Allegedly Strangling Child
Casper police on Sunday responded to a report of a family fight and ended up arresting a man who had allegedly choked a child.
Donald Allen Jakobiak, 49, was booked into jail on recommended charges of child abuse and strangulation of a household member. He will likely make his initial appearance in Natrona County Circuit Court at 2 p.m. Monday.
Charging documents say an officer was sent to a home on Buckboard shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday for a report of a family fight. A woman had called to say her ex-husband was "choking" her children after drinking all night. She also said Jakobiak was asking the children to lie about what happened.
Police arrived to find two children in the house with their mother and Jakobiak. One of the children, a girl, was wrapped up in a blanket, crying. She was holding her throat area and had a large red "U" shape on her neck, police say. The children denied medical treatment.
An officer spoke with Jakobiak, who was obviously intoxicated. Jakobiak reportedly could not utter anything intelligible, other than to say his wife was an "idiot" several times. Jakobiak admitted to having consumed four to five shots of alcohol.
The children's mother reportedly said the children sometimes stay with Jakobiak. She had been dropping the kids off and found that Jakobiak was extremely drunk, which was the reason she and Jakobiak had divorced.
The mother and Jakobiak started to argue. Jakobiak went to walk away and, as he passed the dining table, he fell over and landed on the floor. When the woman went to help him up, Jakobiak allegedly grabbed her wrist and would not let go.
The girl tried to get Jakobiak to let go of her mother, but Jakobiak allegedly grabbed the girl by the neck and threw her to the ground.
The mother then started yelling at Jakobiak for throwing the child. Jakobiak got into his ex-wife's face, and the girl put herself in between the two of them.
Jakobiak then allegedly grabbed the girl by the neck again and pushed her against a wall, holding her up off the ground. The mother called 911.
The girl corroborated her mother's version of events. She told police that she "blacked out for a minute" and didn't remember what happened for roughly 20 seconds. She did recall having trouble breathing while Jakobiak's hands were around her neck.
The mother later took the girl who had been strangled to the emergency room in Douglas.