The suspect in a domestic incident ran into a woods but two officers gave chase and he was taken into custody. He’s been charged with four serious felonies and is facing a habitual felony offender sentence enhancement if convicted.

Christopher Michael Whitfield, 38, of Switz City, formerly of Bloomfield, was arrested by Deputy Davis Aerne of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department early Wednesday, February 5, after an incident that was reported to the sheriff’s department late Tuesday, February 4.

Whitfield’s bond was set at $60,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed.

When he appeared in Greene Superior Court this week for an initial hearing, he was charged with:

Domestic battery with a previous conviction, a Level 5 felony,
Criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon, a Level 3 felony,
Strangulation, a Level 6 felony,
Intimidation with a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony, and
Resisting law enforcement – knowingly or intentionally forcibly resists, a Class A misdemeanor.

According to a probable cause affidavit prepared by Deputy Aerne, a resident on Meadow View Lane in Switz City called the sheriff’s office and said a woman came knocking on the door asking for help, saying her boyfriend, later identified as Whitfield, had choked her and was going to kill her and that a gun might have been involved.

When Deputy Aerne arrived, he spoke to the woman but Whitfield had left the area. The woman described an altercation and Deputy Aerne reported she had an abrasion on a knee, dried blood around her mouth, bruising around her nose, and redness and bruising on the right side of her neck. The woman accused Whitfield of dragging her across the floor by a towel wrapped around her neck, hitting her in the face several times, sitting on her chest causing her to “black out” for a minute then pointing a gun at her head while making a threat against her life. At some point, she got out of the house and ran to another residence.

Deputy Aerne, assisted by Deputy Zachary Goad and Bloomfield Deputy Marshal Wayman JR Blazier, then located Whitfield at the residence of a family member in rural Bloomfield. Whitfield allegedly said he’d been at this residence all evening and had not been with the woman, who probably made everything up.

When the officers first talked to Whitfield, he refused to exit the residence but when he did, he allegedly pulled away from an officer attempting to take him into custody. He fled on foot towards a wooded area and Officer Blazier and Deputy Goad gave chase. One deployed a taser which did not connect. The other deployed a taser which did connect. Officer Blazier’s pants got ripped and he got several lacerations from a briar bush, but Whitfield was taken into custody. After his arrest, Whitfield again denied he had a physical altercation with the woman that night.

When criminal charges were filed against Whitfield, it included a request for a sentence enhancement alleging that Whitfield is a habitual felony offender. The record states Whitfield was convicted and sentenced in September of 2011 for battery resulting in bodily injury, a Class D felony, and convicted and sentenced in September of 2013 for burglary, a Class C felony.

After his initial hearing, the defense made a motion for a bond reduction, but that was denied by the court. Yesterday, on Thursday, February 13, Whitfield posted $6,000 and was released from jail.