Arlington man accused of strangling girlfriend sentenced to 2.5 years of time served
BENNINGTON — A man who has been detained since 2018 on allegations that he tried to kill his girlfriend was sentenced Thursday to two and a half years of time served and five years of probation.
Shortly before he was sentenced, Troy Thompson of Arlington pleaded guilty to the felony crime of first-degree aggravated domestic assault. He also pleaded to two misdemeanor counts of domestic assault.
Thompson, 26, is expected to be released sometime between Friday and Monday, defense attorney Rick Burgoon said. Bennington County’s second-longest-held defendant, Thompson was originally scheduled to undergo jury selection on Tuesday.
On Thursday afternoon, Thompson admitted that during an argument with his girlfriend in December 2018, he pushed her into a bed of broken glass at their home.The broken glass caused a serious laceration on the woman’s lower back, resulting in his felony offense, Bennington County Deputy State’s Attorney Robert Plunkett said.
Thompson also admitted that earlier in 2018, he assaulted his girlfriend on two other occasions. He shoved her against a tractor-trailer while they were in Bennington and punched her in Arlington.
Thompson was originally charged with 14 felony and misdemeanor offenses, including attempted second-degree murder. Attempted murder, the most serious charge he faced, is punishable by a prison term of 20 years to life. The court ordered him held without bail in December 2018 while awaiting trial. His girlfriend told police Thompson repeatedly squeezed her neck until she almost blacked out. At one point, he reportedly tried to strangle her in the bathroom using a shower curtain rod.
https://vtdigger.org/2021/10/28/arlington-man-accused-of-strangling-girlfriend-sentenced-to-2-5-years-of-time-served/
ETA: I posted an article from the Guardian a few weeks ago saying that any time a man puts his hands on a woman's neck - the risk for future murder escalates exponentially.
https://democraticunderground.com/113913845
This man is not safe. Hopefully this woman has a good support system and is protected.