A Chandler man faces an Assault and Battery Domestic Violence by Strangulation charge following his arrest by Lincoln County deputies in mid-March.
Formal charges were filed in Lincoln County District Court on March 31 against Duane Thomas Souza, 51, court records show.
Souza is accused of the felony charge for attacking and injuring his sibling, Sarita Tolbert, by choking and strangling her at 343410 E. 980 Road in Chandler on March 17 of this year.
He made an initial appearance before Special Judge Emily Mueller on March 18.
She set bond at $5,000 with the condition he have no contact with the victim.
Souza reappeared before Judge Mueller April 1 and she scheduled a pre-preliminary hearing at 1:30 p.m. on May 6.
Other court records show that the victim filed a protective order against Souza on March 22. Judge Mueller held a protective order hearing on April 1 and issued a five-year permanent protective order against Souza that is set not to expire until April 1, 2026.
In the felony case against Souza, Lincoln County Deputy Sheriff George Kelly Coleman states in a probable cause affidavit that he arrived at 343410 E. 980 Road in Chandler in Lincoln County to take a report of a domestic assault.
Coleman said Ruth Souza had called to report her son had assaulted her daughter Sarita Tolbert by poking her eyes with his fingers and strangling Sarita and she was bleeding from her eyes.
The deputy said when he met Sarita in the driveway, there were scratches on several areas of her face, there was blood coming from in or near both eyes and there were red marks on both sides of the front of her neck. She was crying and shaking, Coleman reported.
She told the deputy that Souza was sitting in his van under the car port and she was adamant she wanted to press charges against him.
Coleman said he approached the van and spotted Souza reclined in the driver’s seat. He asked him to exit the van and Souza complied, the deputy stated.
He asked Souza what happened and he replied, “what can I say, we got into a fight.” Coleman noticed
Souza had no injuries.
The deputy arrested Souza and placed him in the back seat of Lincoln County Deputy Mark Kelley’s patrol unit, the affidavit reads.
As Deputy Kelley was retrieving Souza’s wallet as he requested, he checked it for weapons and found a Visa Credit/Debit card with a woman’s name embossed on it. Ruth and Sarita informed Kelley it was Souza’s former girlfriend that he had lived with in California until her death in or around November of 2020.
Souza was transported to the Lincoln County Jail in Chandler on the felony charge and possession of another person’s credit/debit card.
Additional records reveal that two additional protective orders were filed earlier this year against Souza by two other people. Those are unrelated to the felony case filed against Souza involving Sarita Tolbert.
Both of those protective orders were filed on Jan. 11 this year and in both of those Judge Mueller issued four-year permanent protective orders against Souza set to expire in January of 2025.