Police: Man choked girlfriend with chain

COEUR d’ALENE — A man is facing felony charges after police said he choked his girlfriend with a wallet chain.

Caleb R. Ellis, 28, is charged with two counts of attempted strangulation, both felonies.

Police responded Oct. 21 to a report of a woman who had told her probation officer that her boyfriend, identified as Ellis, was physically abusing her. The couple lived together.

The woman told police that since shortly after their relationship began, Ellis had choked her at least once a week. She said Ellis had choked her into unconsciousness on several occasions, according to court documents.

In one incident, the woman said, Ellis allegedly positioned himself on top of her while she was lying in bed and pressed on her neck with his forearm. She said she experienced petechia, or red marks caused by ruptured vessels.

She also told police about another incident where Ellis allegedly put his wallet chain into her mouth and choked her with it.

When questioned by police, Ellis reportedly said the couple had argued recently but denied physically harming his girlfriend, according to court documents.

Police arrested Ellis and charged him with two counts of attempted strangulation. The charges stem from the incident when he allegedly pressed his forearm into the woman’s neck and when he allegedly choked her with a wallet chain.

A judge ordered last week that Ellis be held on $75,000 bail and issued a no-contact order between Ellis and the woman.

Ellis was previously convicted of felony possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance in Kootenai County in 2014 and 2019, court documents said.