A Wildwood man was arrested after allegedly strangling a woman and threatening to stab her with a knife.
A deputy responded to an armed and dangerous person, identified as 22-year-old Cha’Rod Maurice Willis, at an undisclosed Wildwood residence at 8 p.m. Thursday, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. The female complainant advised that he armed himself with a knife and threatened a female victim, slashing as if to stab her.
The victim, who had multiple injuries to her body, appeared very distraught. She stated that about a week ago, Willis got upset with her over a scar on her belly from when her gallbladder was removed. Due to this, he hit her in the stomach, leaving bruises, the report said.
After this, the victim wanted to leave. Willis then grabbed her by the neck and threatened to kill her if she did. He hit her multiple times near her shoulder and bit her neck, forcing her to stay at the residence. She suffered a bite mark on her neck, bruising on her shoulder and a red mark on her wrist, the report said.
On a separate occasion days later, the victim tried to leave again. She entered the restroom to get her things, only for Willis to follow her and lock the door behind him. When she asked him to move, he shoved her into the bathtub and beat her while she was on the ground, the report said.
The victim contacted the complainant on Thursday, asking to be picked up because Willis had been physically abusive. The complainant drove to her and saw Willis put the victim in a chokehold while she was eating. The victim lost consciousness, had changes in her vision, difficulty breathing, speaking and swallowing, as well as felt lightheaded and heard ringing in her ears, the report said.
She sustained more bruises to her neck from this, after which the complainant left the residence with the victim’s belongings. At that point, Willis armed himself with a knife and started walking around the residence, upset the complainant was there. He made threatening gestures with the knife and pretended to stab the victim, the report said.
Fearing for her life, the victim tried to get into the complainant’s vehicle to leave. Willis responded by pressing the knife against her back, stating, “It don’t feel good to get stabbed in the back.” He then went back into the residence, the report said.
Willis was arrested on charges of aggravated assault with intent to commit a kill (domestic), domestic battery by strangulation, domestic battery (second or subsequent offense) and false imprisonment (domestic). He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center with bond set at $105,000.
He was also arrested in July 2023 after a brawl over a bicycle at a hotel in Wildwood.