Police: Woman Was Choked, Dumped in Sturtevant

Sturtevant police say a Milwaukee woman was choked into unconsciousness and left by the side of a road in the Renaissance Business Park.

Ruben Sartin, 24, also of Milwaukee, was charged Thursday in Racine County Circuit Court with one felony charge of strangulation and one misdemeanor count of battery, both with domestic abuse assessments and as a repeater. If convicted, Sartin faces up to six years, nine months in jail and/or up to $20,000 in fines. Because he is considered a repeat offender, Sartin could get extra time tacked onto any sentence he might receive.

According to the criminal complaint, Sturtevant police responded at 1:48 p.m. Wednesday to the 2500 block of Wood Road, near the water tower in the Renaissance Business Park, for a call of a woman who said she was choked and left on the side of the road. Because the woman said she didn't know where she was, authorities pinged her cell phone for her location.

When officers arrived, they say the woman said the incident began in Milwaukee when she went to Sartin's house to confront him about some medical information. After waiting for 20 minutes outside Sartin's home, the woman said he finally came outside and the two got into an argument before Sartin threw her into his car and started driving.

The woman said she asked Sartin where they were going, but he would only say, "We just riding.” His mother called during the car ride, and Sartin reportedly told his mom the woman wouldn't be a problem any longer because "it was going to be over soon." The woman said she asked Sartin to let her out of the car, but he refused, the complaint reads.

Officers say Sartin exited the expressway and stopped at a gas station. When he went inside to pay, he offered to get the woman water, but she refused. Sartin got back in the car and drove for another 15 minutes until he stopped near the water tower in the Renaissance Business Park. The woman told police Sartin said, "You want to fight, let's fight" and then started hitting her. 

When the woman fought back, she said Sartin choked her first with one hand, punched her in the stomach, and then choked her with two hands until she passed out, the complaint reads. The woman said when she came to, she called police and while she waited for officers to arrive, Sartin phoned her and said he would be back to get her.

Milwaukee police located Sartin, and the story he told implicated the woman as the one who threw the first punch. Police say Sartin did have scratches on his face and under his arm, but he denied choking the woman and told officers he would never hit a girl.

Sartin remains in the Racine County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond. His preliminary hearing is Oct. 9.