If a man arrested in eastern Greene County last Saturday, then charged with strangulation of a pregnant woman, is found guilty, he could face an enhanced sentence for being an habitual criminal.

Jesse Lane Cardwell, 37, was arrested by Deputy Michael Stanley of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department early last Saturday, May 22. Cardwell was listed with a home address in Bedford on his booking record but court records show him with a home address in Bloomington.

Deputy Stanley, the investigating officer, and Deputy Zachary Goad were dispatched at 2:19 a.m. last Saturday to a fight on North Lawrence Hollow Drive in eastern Greene County. When they got there, Cardwell was standing in the middle of the road waiting on them and said from where he was standing, he was videotaping what was going on inside the residence. He allegedly said he didn’t live there but his pregnant wife was inside to help out with the kids in the residence and he was concerned for her safety. He said another man at the residence told him to leave and threatened him.

The other man mentioned was standing farther up a driveway, also waiting to speak to the deputies. He said Cardwell and his wife had come over to watch children who lived at the residence but the couple started to argue and he told them to take it outside. They did and the man locked the door and went to bed but woke up to hear Cardwell’s wife “screeching at the top of her lungs like somebody was killing her.” He said he saw Cardwell and his wife in a vehicle and Cardwell’s wife said Cardwell was choking her so he told Cardwell to leave. It was Cardwell who then called 911.

During on-scene interviews with all, deputies learned Cardwell’s wife was afraid of him, had been threatened and said he tried to strangle her and was pulling her hair out. While deputies talked to the wife, they could hear Cardwell singing and humming while he was still out on the road in front of the residence.

When they talked to Cardwell again, he allegedly asked the deputies if he was hallucinating, and stated he was just worried about his wife. When he tried to show the video he had taken to deputies, they said it was blurry, constantly shaking, had no audio and did not show any evidence of any foul play going on in the residence. Cardwell allegedly admitted he had needles and bags of meth on him but said he had them just to get them out of the house. Deputy Stanley reported residue in one of the bags tested positive for methamphetamine and so did one of the syringes.

When deputies talked to the children in the residence to see if they had witnessed the physical altercation between Cardwell and his wife, they said they did hear the choking taking place, as did the man in the residence.

Cardwell was booked into the Greene County Jail at 4:00 a.m. and was held without bond pending court appearance.

In his initial hearing earlier today, Cardwell was charged with:

Domestic battery with bodily injury to a pregnant woman, a Level 5 felony,
Strangulation – victim is pregnant, a Level 5 felony,
Possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony, and
Unlawful possession of syringe, a Level 6 felony.

A public defender was appointed to represent him and his bond was set at $25,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed.

In addition to the above charges, Greene County Prosecutor Jarrod Holtsclaw notified the court that should Cardwell be found guilty, he intends to seek a sentence enhancement for Cardwell being an habitual felony offender.

According to the court notice, Cardwell was convicted in February 2009 in Johnson County of battery with a deadly weapon, a Class C felony, in a crime committed in October 2008.

Cardwell was also convicted in February in Monroe County of strangulation, a Level 6 felony, in a crime committed in June 2019.

As of late Thursday, Cardwell had not posted bond.