PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man has been charged in Clallam County Superior Court with several domestic-violence-related charges after he allegedly beat a woman and forced her off state Highway 112 with his pickup truck early Sunday morning.
Michael David Huntzinger, 34, was charged Wednesday with one count each of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, harassment-threats to kill and fourth-degree assault, all of which are domestic violence-related.
Huntzinger remained in the Clallam County jail Wednesday in lieu of a $20,000 bond and is set to be arraigned in Clallam County Superior Court on Sept. 6.
Deputies with the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, with help from Port Angeles and Elwha tribal police, arrested Huntzinger early Sunday morning along South Oak Street in Port Angeles.
Woman not identified
Huntzinger was found in his Ford F-250 truck with the woman he is accused of assaulting. The woman has not been identified.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Huntzinger assaulted the woman, whom he knew previously, several times Saturday night and followed her down state Highway 112 when she tried to escape him.
Deputy Laticia Wells gave this account of the incident in the arrest report filed in Superior Court:
At about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, an Elwha tribal police officer found a yellow Ford pickup truck abandoned in a ditch along Highway 112 just west of the Elwha River bridge.
The truck — which had a damaged left bumper, taillight and tailgate — was found to be registered to the woman who was the alleged victim.
The woman’s boyfriend told the tribal officer he thought Huntzinger was responsible for the damaged truck and the woman’s whereabouts that night.
Deputy’s account
Wells found the woman’s cellphone number, called her and spoke with her as she was traveling back to Port Angeles with Huntzinger in his truck.
After Huntzinger was pulled over and arrested, the woman told Wells that Huntzinger had kneed her in the chest, held her down by her wrists and throat, and tried to prevent her from leaving a house where they were earlier in the evening.
The woman also said Huntzinger rammed her yellow Ford truck several times at high speed while she was driving along Highway 112, forcing her off the road.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
