Stafford, VA. Deputies with the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office arrested a suspect on Sunday on assault and battery and strangulation charges following a domestic dispute.

On May 20, 2018, at approximately 9:33 p.m., Deputy J.A. Mangan responded to a domestic violence call in the area of Woodstream Boulevard. A caller advised that witnesses saw a man and woman fighting in the middle of the street and several children appeared to be with them.

Upon arrival, the deputy observed additional deputies setting up a perimeter in an attempt to locate the suspect who had fled the scene. The deputy also made contact with the victim who had substantial bruising with visible fingerprint marks around her neck and forearms. Rescue personnel were requested to examine the victim.

The victim told the deputy she and the suspect got into a verbal argument and the suspect asked her to leave. She exited the home, and got in a vehicle with her children. The suspect followed them to the vehicle, grabbed the rear view mirror, and ripped it off the windshield. The victim quickly exited the vehicle and attempted to retrieve her phone to call 911. The suspect took the phone away from the victim and threw it on the ground. He then began choking the victim to the point she could no longer breathe and felt like she might pass out.

In the meantime, deputies located the suspect, identified as Devaughan Marquelle Elder, 18, of Stafford and took him into custody. On the way to the deputy’s vehicle, the suspect saw the victim and began to shout obscenities at her. At the Magistrate’s Office, the suspect admitted to all of the charges being obtained, including choking the victim.

The suspect was incarcerated at Rappahannock Regional Jail on charges of assault and battery, strangulation, disorderly conduct, and unlawfully keeping another from calling 911.