A St. Louis man has pleaded guilty to an amended charge in a September 2017 assault case in Jefferson City.
Danny Craig III, 40, pleaded guilty to third-degree assault during a Wednesday hearing before Cole County Judge Dan Green. He had been charged with second-degree assault.
Craig admitted to attacking a woman “under the influence of sudden passion arising out of adequate cause by choking her and stating he was going to kill her,” according to court documents.
The victim in the case stated she had parked her car to the rear of a friend’s house in the 200 block of West Elm Street when Craig, her acquaintance, began yelling at her and accused her of stealing his heroin, according to a Jefferson City Police Department probable cause statement.
The victim stated Craig then hit her repeatedly in the face, pushed her to the ground and choked her.
While he choked her, she said, Craig yelled he was going to kill her, and she felt as if she would black out. She said she had been able to kick Craig off of her, but he leaned back in and punched her in the face and grabbed her hair.
She was able to get off the ground, but Craig followed her and chased her around her car.
However, once she grabbed a machete from her car and threatened Craig with it, he left the area on foot.
The victim was transported to a hospital with blood covering her face, chest, arms and hands, and her left eye was bruised and swollen.