Crime & Safety

Man Charged with Grabbing Eagan Woman's Throat During Argument

Jonathan Pierre Neita is charged with felony domestic assault by strangulation.

A Minneapolis man has been charged with domestic assault by strangulation after authorities say he grabbed an Eagan woman by the throat while she was holding her 8-month-old child.

Jonathan Pierre Neita, 19, faces a felony charge of domestic assault by strangulation, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. 

Neita remains in the Dakota County Jail on a $50,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled for Sept. 19 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.

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According to the criminal complaint, Eagan police were called to a home on Aug. 17 to investigate a domestic assault.

When they arrived, the victim, who was “visibly upset,” said her boyfriend had come to her home and had grabbed her cell phone from her hands, then run away with the phone.

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The victim said she waited outside, holding her 8-month-old baby, for Neita to return. When he did, he was upset because he had found text messages on the victim’s phone to other men, she said.

The victim told police that she wants to end her relationship with Neita, and “he is not taking the news well,” according to the complaint.

Neita began questioning the victim about the men she had texted and threw her phone to the ground, breaking it, the complaint says. Neita then grabbed the victim by the back of her hair and forced her to the ground while she was holding the child, according to the complaint.

When the victim stood up, Neita hit her in the face and put a hand around her throat, constricting her breathing, the complaint says. The victim told police she was afraid she would die if he didn’t let her go.

Neita told police that he had gone to the victim’s apartment to see the baby, and when he looked through her cell phone and discovered that she was contacting other men, he became “extremely jealous,” according to the complaint.

Neita admitted throwing the victim’s phone on the ground and breaking it, the complaint says.


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