Police: New Kensington man strangles woman, dog during argument

A New Kensington man grabbed a woman by her neck and lifted her off her feet during a fight Monday morning, according to city police.

New Kensington police said that Damian Ryan Terrace, 23, also choked one of the woman’s dogs and threatened to kill them.

According to a criminal complaint against Terrace, police went to the 200 block of Moss Alley shortly after 7 a.m. in response to a 911 call of a woman yelling for help.

The incident happened at an apartment in the 200 block of Sixth Avenue, police said.

Police said the woman told them she and Terrace got into an argument over text messages on his cellphone. Terrace allegedly tried to access her phone, but realized she had changed the password and threw it on the floor, trying to break it.

The woman told police she took the keys to her car to stop Terrace from taking it; Terrace took her purse and said she was not leaving. The woman said that’s when the fight turned physical.

The woman told police that Terrace started shaking her and took her phone again, and then proceeded to insult her, calling her “fat and crazy” and having “the mentality of a six-year-old child.”

As the fight continued, Terrace allegedly chased the woman into the living room and started to slap her in the face with an open hand multiple times. Terrace had her cornered against a wall when one of her dogs attacked him, police said.

The woman told police Terrace grabbed the dog and choked it, after which he turned his attention back to her. The woman said Terrace grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off her feet, causing her to gasp for air as he strangled her.

When she eventually fell to the floor, the woman said Terrace kicked her and spit on her face. She opened the porch door and yelled for help before Terrace closed it.

The woman said Terrace threatened to kill her dogs if she left. When she asked him why he was doing this to her, Terrace said, “Because I can,” according to the complaint.

When Terrace went to another room, the woman said she ran from the apartment to get help.

Paramedics said the victim had two bruises on her upper left leg, but she refused to be taken to a hospital. Police said they gave her information on getting a protection from abuse order.

Police charged Terrace with a strangulation, a second-degree felony; misdemeanor counts of unlawful restraint, simple assault and cruelty to animals; and a summary count of harassment. He did not have a lawyer listed in court records.

Terrace was sent to the Westmoreland County Prison on $25,000 bail after an arraignment before District Judge Frank Pallone Jr., according to court records.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 22.