BUCKHANNON – An Upshur County man was arrested after allegedly choking a woman and pushing her against a wall.

Terry Pumphrey, 46, of Buckhannon, was arrested Tuesday, July 26,  for strangulation and domestic battery third offense, both felonies, in connection to an incident that reportedly occurred two weeks prior.

According to the criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office filed by Sgt. Marshall O’Connor with the Buckhannon Police Department, on Monday, July 12, 2022, O’Connor responded to a 911 hang-up call that came from a residence on Fayette Street.

Prior to the caller hanging up, a telecommunicator at the E911 Upshur County Communication Center could hear someone breathing into the phone and saying, ‘help me.’

When police were en route to the home, the Comm Center contacted a woman at the residence who said her boyfriend, later identified as Pumphrey, had allegedly hit her and she had marks on her body. Upon arriving on scene, O’Connor was met by the woman who showed him the mark she had on her neck. According to the complaint, the mark showed a reddening of the right side of her neck and upper shoulder area, along with small lacerations.

When asked what happened, the woman demonstrated Pumphrey’s action. Based on that demonstration, O’Connor ascertained that Pumphrey allegedly grabbed her neck and pushed her up against a wall. The woman said during this action, Pumphrey was telling her to, “shut the [expletive] up,” the file says. The woman stated she told Pumphrey she could not breathe, at which time he released his grip.

Upshur County Magistrate Mark Davis set bail at $50,000 cash only, and as of Wednesday afternoon, Pumphrey remained incarcerated in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail, according to the West Virginia Regional Jail & Correctional Facility Authority.

The potential penalty for a conviction of strangulation is confinement in the state penitentiary for not less than one year nor more than five years, a fine of not more than $2,500, or both. Additionally, the possible penalty for domestic battery third offense is imprisonment in the state penitentiary for a term of one to five years, a fine of up to $2,500, or both.