Formal charges filed against attorney Alexander Newman

Feb. 26—ANDERSON — Formal charges of strangulation and domestic battery have been filed against local public defender attorney Alexander Newman.

The charges were filed in Hamilton County against Newman, 38, following his arrest Sunday by the Fishers Police Department.

Newman is charged with a Level 6 felony charge of strangulation and misdemeanor charges of domestic battery and domestic battery by bodily waste.

He is scheduled to appear for his initial hearing in Hamilton Superior Court 3 in Noblesville next Friday.

"I don't have anything to say," Newman said when contacted by The Herald Bulletin on Monday.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed by the Fisher's Police Department, officers were dispatched at 12:49 a.m. Sunday to the Yard Parking Garage following a 911 call by Newman's girlfriend.

She told police they had been dating off and on for approximately three years.

Newman's girlfriend told police she was visiting from Dallas and the two went to several restaurants and bars on Saturday night.

The woman said that Newman introduced her to some of his friends and not others. She reportedly asked Newman about not introducing her and that caused him to become upset and mad, according to the affidavit.

She said when they got back to the parking garage, Newman began yelling and cursing at her and pushed her head into the front passenger's side window.

According to the police affidavit, he then allegedly proceeded to choke her. She told police she was unable to yell, speak or breathe.

She said at some point Newman "spit" on her. The woman told police she was scared and at one point feared for her life.

Newman then reportedly left the parking garage and said he was going to the apartment to "burn all her things."

A passing couple helped her obtain her belongings from the apartment.

The court document indicates the police officers noticed redness and discoloration on her neck and throat areas.

Police located Newman in his apartment and he declined to provide a statement or answer questions.

Bryan Williams, the chief public defender for Madison County, said the Public Defender Board will meet sometime next week to determine Newman's status as a public defender in Madison Circuit Court Division 6.

Newman also has been serving as an assistant attorney for the city of Anderson since 2018.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.