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

Brett Andrew Smitherman, 36, has been charged with two counts of domestic assault, each of which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

In addition, Smitherman faces one charge of fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

According to the complaint:

On Dec. 11, Fairmont police officers were dispatched to the Freedom Gas Station on a report of a domestic assault. Dispatch advised that a female party was inside the store and said she had been whipped by her boyfriend.

An officer arrived at the scene and observed Smitherman standing in the parking lot.

Smitherman made eye contact with the officer and quickly entered his vehicle. Smitherman then turned around in the parking lot, drove over the gas pump curb and exited using the southeast exit. The officer immediately activated his emergency lights and siren to follow.

Smitherman’s vehicle sped up and began to pull away from the officer’s squad vehicle. The officer observed Smitherman’s vehicle run a stop sign and eventually pull into Smitherman’s driveway on South Hampton Street.

The officer got out of his vehicle and pointed his service weapon at Smitherman, who told the officer to shoot him. Smitherman was ordered to get on the ground, but he refused and continued to walk toward his front door. Smitherman was taken to the ground and placed under arrest, with the assistance of another officer.

The second officer then went back to speak with the woman, who was determined to be a household member of Smitherman. She said that earlier in the day she had gone to Smitherman’s residence with another individual and Smitherman became upset. She and the individual went back to the individual’s residence and Smitherman followed, and she went back to Smitherman’s residence with Smitherman.

The woman said Smitherman began to take a whip and whip his own back. As she grabbed hold of him, the whip ended up around her neck and shoulders, and the tip of the whip struck the corner of her mouth.

She explained she ended up in the bathroom and Smitherman grabbed her by the hair and her throat and began choking her. She said she was able to breathe and he began to pull her into the living room and kicked her side several times. She observed a man had pulled up outside the residence and she got into his vehicle and ended up at the gas station.

A check of Smitherman’s criminal history shows a conviction for violation of a harassment restraining order in 2013, and a conviction for domestic assault in 2014. Both convictions are qualified domestic violence-related offense convictions.