FAIRMONT — A Fairmont man is facing a felony charge in Martin County.

Mathew Leslie Flowers, 29, has been charged with domestic assault by strangulation, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

According to the complaint:

On July 10, Fairmont police officers were dispatched on a report of a domestic in progress in the 900 block of Albion Avenue. Dispatch advised they had received a call, could hear screaming in the background and the phone was disconnected.

Upon arrival at the residence, an officer heard a female, 23, yelling and crying as she spoke to another law enforcement official. Also present was a witness, who was a relative of the woman.

The officer spoke with the witness who said she had come to the house to pick up the kids when she heard screaming. She said she went to the steps, where Flowers had the woman pinned down. The witness said she went over to Flowers, grabbed his shirt and tried to pull him off.

The witness said Flowers got in her face and started yelling at her to back off. The witness said she told Flowers to keep his hands off the woman. When asked if Flowers had hit the woman, the witness said he choked her, slapped her, hit her and threw her.

The officer could observe fresh red marks on the front and sides of the woman’s neck. When asked to explain how Flowers chocked her, she said he put his arm around her neck from behind.

The officer asked if she could breathe and she said there were a couple of times she could not. The woman indicated the argument began when Flowers received a recent picture of himself and a relative together. She said they were lying in bed when she picked up the phone and observed the pictures, at which time she pushed him away from her.

The woman said Flowers then picked her up and threw her, and started screaming at her and telling her it was all her fault. She said she then told Flowers she did not want it to escalate, did not want him to leave and wanted to talk it out. She said that at one point she wrapped herself around him so he would not leave.

The officer asked if this was after Flowers had thrown her to the ground and she said it was. The woman said Flowers wrestled her, trying to get her off.

The woman said Flowers then stated he would have to knock her out and put her to sleep so he could leave, and that was when Flowers tried to choke her. She said Flowers let her go when he could see that she was not able to breathe, and then he would do it again.

The officer asked if she knew where Flowers was and she indicated she thought he was in the house. She began to argue with officers about going into the house, but the officer indicated they were going into the house to arrest Flowers. The officers were unable to locate Flowers inside.

At about 3 p.m. July 10, the officer spoke with the woman again to see if she had heard from Flowers. She indicated Flowers had contacted her at about 1:50 p.m. and called her names for contacting the police. Officers have been unable to locate Flowers.