By Amanda Manchester

Herald Reporter

EVANSTON — A local man, who has a prior conviction of strangulation of a household member has been arrested and charged with committing the same offense a second time.

According to court documents, Jonathan Perez, 29, was taken into custody on Thursday, April 18, after his girlfriend attempted to break up with him and he allegedly attacked her the day before.

According to an affidavit in support of arrest, Perez’s girlfriend informed law enforcement that they’d been in a relationship for about a year, but that “she has had enough of the relationship due to him being very controlling and not easy to get along with.”

While the couple were driving to her place of employment, she attempted to end the relationship, at which point Perez became infuriated and demanded she drive him home so they could discuss it further, court documents allege.

She said that she knew if she took him home, he wouldn’t allow her to leave and she asked if she could take him to the Sheriff’s Office to talk to an officer there that he trusts and confides in, according to the affidavit. Perez became further enraged at her suggestion, and he grabbed at the steering wheel in an attempt to pull the vehicle over, but was unsuccessful.

Perez then allegedly forced the gear shift into park and the girlfriend was attempting to escape the vehicle when Perez “grabbed her by the throat and began to choke her,” the affidavit states.

Unable to speak, she eventually pried herself free, according to investigators. Perez exited the vehicle and began walking down the road while the girlfriend continued to the Sheriff’s Office to report the alleged assault.

Fresh red marks and scratches on the girlfriend’s neck were observed, photographed and documented at that time, according to the affidavit.

The day after the attack, Perez called the sheriff’s office, then turned himself in shortly after. A criminal background check uncovered a previous conviction for strangulation of a household member from March 2023.

Perez’s version of events varies greatly as he said he was accused of cheating by his girlfriend and he demanded she take him home. Perez claims that she refused to let him out of the car, and consequently hit him in the face several times. He said that his hands were placed on her neck as he attempted to push her away, at which point he then exited the car, according to court documents.

“Perez showed me (the reporting officer) a bruise on his left eye that, in my professional opinion, was not very new, as well as a scratch on his lip that also was scabbed and not fresh looking,” the affidavit concluded.

If convicted for a second time, Perez faces up to 10 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine. He was also charged with misdemeanor domestic battery, also a second offense, and faces up to one year and a $1,000 fine for that charge.