Police Say Man Assaulted, Restrained and Threatened to Stab Woman

Nashua police arrested a local man on numerous domestic violence-related charges, including six counts of second-degree assault, on June 5.

Police said Johnathan Ray Gerald, 30, of Nashua, was arrested after officers responded to a Nashua residence for a report of a domestic complaint.

A woman in her 20s had sent text messages to family and friends requesting help because she was being assaulted and held in her apartment against her will, according to Nashua police.

Officers forced entry into the apartment after they could get no response and they found Gerald and the woman inside. Police said an investigation revealed that Gerald had restrained the victim within her apartment for nearly five hours and would not let her leave. 

He physically assaulted her by grabbing her, throwing her around and repeatedly choking her, and she suffered cuts and bruises, police said.

Gerald allegedly threatened to stab her with a knife and a pair of scissors and threatened to pour a pot of hot oil on her, according to police.

The woman suffered cuts and bruises.

Gerald was taken into custody and was scheduled to be arraigned June 6 in Nashua. In addition to the six counts of second-degree assault, he was charged with three counts of criminal threatening, criminal restraint, four counts of simple assault, and criminal mischief.

A Class B felony is punishable by up to seven years in prison. A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year's jail time.