Sanbornton Man Arrested On Strangulation, Other Charges In Concord

CONCORD, NH — A man from Sanbornton is facing felony charges after an incident at the Royal Gardens Apartment complex in Concord in June.

Around 9:30 p.m. on June 7, police were sent to the complex to meet with a woman who accused Matthew Hoey, 22, of Drake Road in Sanbornton, of being “heavily intoxicated,” attempting to steal her vehicle, and assaulting her.

The woman told police the pair had been having arguments about their relationship due to actions he had taken, the report said. On that evening, she requested he leave one of the apartment rooms, and when he did, he decided to take a child and go back to Sanbornton. She accused him of saying he would take her vehicle even though she did not want him to due to his alleged intoxication, an affidavit said. The victim accused Hoey of assaulting her, which caused her to fall, and then laughed about it.

When she tried to get up, she accused Hoey of putting his hand around her neck and choking her for several minutes. The victim said her ears popped while being strangled, and she began to lose consciousness, the report said.

The officer noted the woman had scratches on her neck and spoke with a deep voice. Her face was also red, but the officer did not know if this was due to the heat or the assault.

Hoey was accused of leaving the complex in her car, although the vehicle was located in the parking lot later, police noted.

About two hours later, Sanbornton police contacted Hoey at a relative’s house and took custody of him on a stop-and-hold alert issued by Concord police. The reporting officer from Concord then picked up Hoey.

The reporting officer spoke with Hoey after reading him his Miranda Rights. He said he “lightly hit her” while playing with a child but “did not have any malicious intent when he hit her,” an affidavit said. Hoey denied strangling the woman, the report said.

Hoey was arrested and charged with second-degree assault-strangulation and second-degree assault-strangulation-domestic violence, both felonies, as well as simple assault and domestic violence-simple assault charges.

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