Man Choked Female Rideshare Driver With Belt: Meriden Police

MERIDEN, CT — A man is accused of choking a female rideshare driver with a belt earlier this week in Meriden, according to police.

The victim went to the Meriden Police Department around 8 p.m. on Tuesday to report the incident. The victim told police that she is a rideshare driver who picked up a fare in Middletown.

The driver brought two men to the Popeye’s restaurant on East Main Street, according to police. While in the drive-thru, one of the men “became belligerent with the employees and her,” according to police.

Police said at one point, the man “put a belt around the victim’s neck and began to choke her.”

The man was choking the victim until he saw a marked police vehicle in the area, according to police. At that point, the man stopped choking the victim and got out of the car and ran away, police said.

The other man also left the car, according to police.

The victim told police she was scared and left the scene and came to the police department to report the incident.

Detectives were able to identify both men who were in the vehicle and identified the suspect as Jonathan Dutch, according to police.

Police said Dutch was in Meriden for a short time while working as a long-haul mover.

Dutch was arrested on charges of criminal attempt at first-degree strangulation, first-degree unlawful restraint, second-degree threatening, and second-degree breach of peace. He was being held in lieu of a $50,000 bond with a court date of Nov. 30, according to state judicial records.