PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man accused of strangling a woman until she almost lost consciousness and burning her leg with a curling iron is set to face a Feb. 19 jury trial.
Ronald Glen Smith, 52, pleaded not guilty Friday to one count each of second-degree assault and fourth-degree assault, both domestic violence-related, and one count of fourth-degree assault, according to Clallam County Superior Court records.
He remained in the county jail Wednesday on $25,000 bail. His next court appearance is set Jan. 24 for a status hearing.
Sheriff’s deputies said that at about 7:30 p.m. Dec. 27, Smith punched a woman, whom he had known previously, in the head; choked her; and threatened to kill her if she told anyone.
After deputies arrived and Smith was arrested that same night, the woman told deputies that Smith also had burned her left thigh with a curling iron about a week and a half earlier.
She said it all happened at a residence in the 2800 block of East U.S. Highway 101 east of Port Angeles.
Deputy Kenneth Oien said the unidentified woman told authorities that after Smith hit and choked her, he broke and threw things in the house, then punched a friend of hers who tried to intervene.
The curling iron allegedly used in the earlier incident left a burn mark 4-5 inches long and 1 inch wide on the woman’s thigh, Oien said.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
