New Brighton Man Charged with Strangling Burnsville Woman

A New Brighton man has been charged with beating and choking a Burnsville woman after the two argued last week.

Synquez Desonne Davis, 22, is charged with domestic assault by strangulation, a felony with a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. He is also charged with two gross misdemeanor counts of domestic assault, each of which has a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $3,000 fine. 

According to the criminal complaint, Burnsville police were called to an apartment building in the 15000 block of Harriet Avenue South just after 9:30 p.m. Sept. 26 on an unrelated matter. When they arrived, the victim approached and told them she had been assaulted by Davis. 

The woman told police that Davis, her boyfriend of several months, had pushed her onto a bed and choked her, making it difficult for her to breathe. She said Davis also prevented her from leaving the apartment by blocking her path to the door.

She said she eventually was able to get away when Davis began searching for his cell phone.

The victim she was afraid of Davis, and that her family had been urging her to leave him.

Officers forced their way into the apartment and arrested Davis, who smelled of alcohol and had trouble standing, according to the complaint.

Davis denied assaulting the victim, but acknowledged that they had been “having problems,” the complaint says.

Davis remains in the Dakota County Jail on a $20,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled Nov. 28 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.