BUCKHANNON – A Buckhannon man was arrested this week after he allegedly strangled his girlfriend during an argument.

Douglas Bowser, 39, of Buckhannon was arrested for domestic battery and strangulation.

According to the criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office, Bowser was at the residence of his girlfriend on the Sago Road on May 24 and they were arguing over the use of her debit card and a charge where Bowser used it to pay his cell phone bill.

The victim told investigating officer Sgt. Theron Caynor with the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office that while she was sitting on the couch, Bowser allegedly came at her and held her down.

“The defendant placed both hands around her throat and choked her. In the struggle he placed his knee in her chest to hold her down and continued to choke her until she went unconscious,” Caynor wrote in the report.

The victim came to the sheriff’s office the next day and made a complaint. When Caynor spoke to the victim, she had a blue/green bruise on her right shoulder and chest area and had bruising on her throat, the file states.

Bail was set by Upshur County Magistrate Mark Davis at $6,000 cash only.

The potential penalty for strangulation is confinement in a state correctional facility not less than one year or more than five years, a fine of not more than $2,500, or both. The potential penalty for domestic battery is confinement in jail for not more than 12 months, a fine of not more than $500, or both.