APOPKA, Fla. – An Orange County Corrections officer is accused of choking and striking woman Monday during an argument at a residence in Apopka, according to police.
According to an arrest affidavit, Apopka police responded to an undisclosed address around 9:04 a.m. after a woman called 911 saying that a man – later identified as 39-year-old Joshua Sutton – “attempted to choke her and had a gun.”
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Dispatch reported to responding officers that while on the call, the woman put the phone down but screaming could be heard in the background.
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The victim was standing outside when officers arrived and began to cry while explaining what happened inside of the home, according to the affidavit.
The woman told police that during an argument, Sutton exited the bedroom and choked her while hitting her on the front and back of her head.
Police said they saw a red mark on the woman’s nose, and a slightly larger red mark next to her mouth covered in blood. Officers also noted two children were standing with the woman outside and were upset and crying.
According to the affidavit, Sutton told the woman and someone listed as “victim 2″ on the affidavit that they “needed to die in a fiery car accident” before hitting the woman multiple times.
The woman told officers that Sutton then went into the bedroom and could hear him unlocking the safe where he keeps his personal handguns. She then left the residence with the children.
Officers said because Sutton may have had a gun, they set up a perimeter to close the roads in the front and back of the residence.
At around 9:40 a.m., officers said they made contact with Sutton on the phone. He then exited the home and was placed under arrest.
According to the affidavit, Sutton was mad because the woman asked him to buy her cigarettes. The woman said that Sutton has put his hands on her and “strangled her multiple times” since 2017, but this was the first time put his hands on “victim 2.”
She told officers that Sutton punched her in the back and on the back of the head while grabbing her throat and she felt that her airway was temporarily restricted.
After telling Sutton to “stop” and “no,” she told police that Sutton punched “victim 2″ in the chest, according to the affidavit.
When questioned, Sutton told police that he was angry because he works overnight hours and the woman awakened him.
Sutton faces charges of battery by touch or strike and domestic battery by strangulation and was taken to the Orange County jail.
Two guns were found in the home removed and placed into evidence, police said.
Officials at Orange County Corrections said that Sutton was placed on “relief of duty” without pay pending the charges and administrative reviews of the incident.
Due to the nature of the crime, News 6 has decided not to identify the relationship between Sutton and the victim.
Victims of domestic violence can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline, available 24 hours a day at 800-799-7233.
Harbor House of Central Florida offers a 24-hour confidential crisis hotline, reachable at 407-886-2856.