Man facing felony strangulation charges

A Woodland man will stand trial for allegedly strangling a woman.

After a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court in Clearfield County, charges of felony strangulation, misdemeanor simple assault and a summary harassment against Robert Aaron Lanager, 50, were held to court. The case now moves onto the Court of Common Pleas. He remains incarcerated in lieu of $50,000 bail.

The charges stem from an incident on June 10 in Bradford Township when Lanager allegedly held a woman down in a chokehold.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, Lanager and the woman got into an argument over Lanager’s drug use in the kitchen of their home.

She told police he was lying on the floor when she attempted to leave the kitchen. He reportedly grabbed her by the leg, but she pulled free and ran up the steps.

Lanager caught up to her and allegedly tackled her on the stairs, she said. He then reached forward, allegedly putting her in chokehold. He squeezed her neck intentionally, according to the report, impeding her breathing and ability to speak.

The pressure let up just enough to allow her to bite his hand and clear her airway, said told police.

She attempted to de-escalate the situation and after a few minutes he let her up, according to police. She got into the bedroom, locked the door and called 911.

An officer at the scene observed that the woman’s face was red, and also saw a bite mark on Lanager’s left hand, according to the report.

This story was originally published June 15, 2017 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Man facing felony strangulation charges."