Spokane Police arrested a 34-year-old man this weekend after a woman said he locked her in a room, threatened her with an ax and strangled her with her own shirt.
According to court documents, the woman said she arrived home near 17th and Jefferson and a man, later identified as Steven Serpa, pulled up in a car. The woman said Serpa followed her into the house and locked her in the garage after pulling a large ax out. She said he threw her to the ground and began to strangle her with the shirt she was wearing.
The woman said she urinated herself and began to experience a "floating" feeling while Serpa strangled her, which officers say means she was about to pass out.
Officers concluded Serpa and the woman had only met once prior to Friday's encounter and do not have a DV relationship.
While on scene officers interviewed another woman who lives in the house. According to court documents, that woman said she heard the victim run upstairs screaming that a man was trying to kill her. That woman was concerned enough that she hopped out a window.
Another resident of the house told officers he tried to intervene during the attack. That resident said he was also assaulted with shoves and punches by Serpa.
Serpa was eventually arrested after a standoff for 2nd Degree Assault and Unlawful Imprisonment. He is currently in the Spokane County Jail.
(story and photo: KHQ.com)