Las Cruces man charged after police say he hit woman with gardening tool, strangled her

Note: This story contains descriptions of domestic violence. La Casa offers emergency shelter via walk-in between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. or by calling 575-526-9513.

LAS CRUCES - Police say that a man struck a woman's eye with a gardening tool before strangling her over the weekend, leading to his arrest.

Armando De Leon, 58, was charged with one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and two counts of aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm. De Leon was arrested on May 21, the same day as the incident, court records show.

In an affidavit, police said that the incident began when De Leon chased a woman out of his house on the 1900 block of Bellamah Drive. The affidavit did not say what, if any, relationship existed between De Leon and the woman. However, the affidavit did say that De Leon picked up the shaft of a gardening tool and lobed it at the woman, according to her statements after the incident.

The shaft of the tool hit the woman in the eye, causing her to trip and fall to the ground, police said. De Leon then approached the woman, knelt down, and began strangling her, the woman told police. While strangling her, De Leon slammed the woman's head against the ground, the woman told police.

De Leon told police that he and the woman got into a shouting match. When the woman left his house, he followed her out until she tripped and fell. De Leon said he then stood over her and shouted down at her. He did not say he strangled the woman, according to the affidavit.

De Leon's neighbor, however, confirmed the woman's version of events. She told police that she saw De Leon standing over the woman while strangling her and bashed her head against the ground. De Leon spent the weekend in the Doña Ana County Detention Center after his arrest.

He was scheduled for a first appearance in the Doña Ana County Magistrate Court on May 23.

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Justin Garcia is a public safety reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com​​​​​​.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Las Cruces man charged after police say he hit woman with gardening tool, strangled her