A Geneva man, Chrishawn Howard, was convicted of strangulation and assault in Ontario County Court this week. The jury found Howard guilty of the felony charges on Wednesday, which are class D felonies that carry a sentence of up to seven years in prison. However, he was acquitted of the more serious charges of robbery and grand larceny.
The charges stem from an incident that took place in March 2021 at a house party in Geneva. According to the District Attorney, Jim Ritts, Howard became angry when he felt he did not get all of the money back that was thrown at the partygoers. He then directed his family to strip-search the victim, but no money was found. When Howard returned to the party, still angry, he strangled the victim and hit her with an object that appeared to be a gun, causing her to fall to the ground and be beaten.
Ritts added that during the struggle, Howard took phones from the victim’s pockets while looking for his money, and they were never returned. The victim reported the incident to the Geneva Police Department later that morning with severe swelling and pain.
Howard is scheduled to be sentenced on April 18 by Judge Brian Dennis and will face up to seven years in prison for the charges of strangulation, assault, and unlawful imprisonment. Howard’s attorney, Jason Housel, has stated that he will appeal the convictions, specifically challenging the photos taken from the victim after the incident as not supporting the strangulation charge.
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