Man accused of strangling 3-year-old while on PCP becomes latest charged under new DC law
WASHINGTON - A D.C. man was arrested and charged with strangling a 3-year-old child at a birthday party while he was allegedly on PCP.
Police say the incident occurred just after 9 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 12 when 40-year-old Lontez Williams arrived at the Frederick Douglass Apartments on Cedar Street in Southeast, D.C.
According to police, Williams arrived at the birthday party in the apartment complex but got upset when he realized it wasn’t for him. A victim told police that Williams left and came back to the party under the influence of PCP.
The victim told police that Williams then attacked her and took her phone from her hands. She then said her sister, who left before officers had arrived, had also pepper-sprayed Williams.
Williams proceeded to destroy a television before putting a 3-year-old child in a chokehold and tossing him onto a couch.
The victim said she was able to push Williams out of the house and called police.
When officers arrived, Williams was on the hood of a car and had ripped the windshield wipers off. Police were able to detain him and he was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Williams went before a judge Tuesday, where he was ordered held on charges of strangulation, child cruelty, destruction of property and assault on a police officer.
He’s one of the more than two dozen people to be prosecuted under the new D.C. law that made strangulation a punishable felony.
The law went into effect in July after the D.C. Council passed the Prioritizing Public Safety Emergency Amendment Act of 2023. The emergency legislation passed as local lawmakers worked to address the crime wave crippling the city.
The latest D.C. crime bill, the Secure DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2024, would cement this measure into place with the goal of increasing protections for victims of child abuse, sexual abuse and domestic violence.
The omnibus bill passed the first of two votes earlier this month. It’s expected to pass the second and Mayor Muriel Bowser has said that she will sign it into law if it does.
RELATED: What’s in the Secure DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2024?
"We know that driving down crime requires us to send a clear message that if you make our city less safe, if you bring violence to our community, you will be held accountable," Bowser said in a statement earlier this month. "I look forward to signing this bill into law and urge the Council to move with urgency to unanimously pass this legislation."
Between Feb. 5 and Feb. 13 alone, police charged six people with strangulation, including Williams. In all five of the other cases, the male suspects are accused of assaulting and strangling female victims.
In one case, 58-year-old Michael Alston was accused of punching a 72-year-old woman before strangling her and threatening her with a knife. The victim managed to escape.
In addition to those cases, 34-year-old Joseph Coles is facing assault and strangulation charges. He’s accused of attacking a woman that he met through an online dating app on Jan. 19.
Cole allegedly invited her over to his home to bring him food but at some point during the visit, became upset and began strangling the victim while holding her pinned against a wall.
Strangulation is widely recognized as one of the most lethal forms of domestic violence.
"The data shows that people strangled by an intimate partner are 800% more likely to be the victim of a homicide," said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves. "Recognizing this danger, we advocated for a felony charge for strangulation, and we are grateful that the Council passed, and the Mayor signed, emergency legislation temporarily creating a specific felony. We have aggressively charged this crime since it was enacted in July 2023. Now is the time to make the legislation permanent and to create a presumption that people who engage in this life-threatening conduct will be held in jail after their arrest."