GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – A Green Bay man is facing several charges in connection with a drunken domestic abuse incident last week.
42-year-old Joseph L. Bauer is facing five felonies, including strangulation and suffocation, intimidate victim/use or attempt force, battery and false imprisonment.
According to the criminal complaint, Bauer had been drinking Kessler’s for about 6 hours on Sunday January 17 when his wife wanted to move a computer modem off of a desk and into a drawer.
Bauer’s wife says that her cat knocked the modem off of the desk and wanted to put it in a drawer where Bauer keeps some papers. She says that her husband usually, “ends up angry and argumentative when he drinks.”
Bauer then began yelling at her at the idea of moving some of his items, “and called her a bitch.” She said that Bauer then grabbed her with both of his hands around her throat. She told police that it made it tough for her to breathe, and that she thought she was going to die.
The complaint states that Bauer pushed his wife into a corner and told her to stay there and that, “he owned her because they are married.”
Bauer then grabbed his wife’s phone and took it from her. She tried getting off the floor and Bauer grabbed her again by the throat and pulled her into the kitchen. She told police that Bauer, “grabbed knives out of the drawer and attempted to place them into her hand. She said that Joseph was yelling, ‘Just slit my throat and just kill me’.”
Police say that Bauer’s wife indicated he was trying to put the knives in her hand and guide her hand to harm him. “At one point she was afraid Joseph was going to use one of the knives to hurt her.”
Bauer’s wife told authorities she tried grabbing her phone off of the table and run out the back door to try and get help. However, Bauer was able to catch her before she could make it out. She said Bauer had 3 knives in the room that he caught her in and again tried putting the knives in her hand.
The complaint goes to state that Bauer grabbed his wife again by the throat, this time harder, threw her to the ground and got on top of her. She said that he put both of his hands over her mouth. “The wife said that the doorbell rang and he said, ‘Who do you think that is?’ She told him that she did not know.” Bauer then sat on top of her for about 5 to 10 minutes before getting off of her.
Authorities say Bauer’s wife had to go to the bathroom, to which he replied, “Piss yourself.” She said after he got up off of her, she laid there and cried. Eventually, she worked up the courage to get up and head for the bathroom. Bauer followed her and stood there while she used the bathroom. Bauer’s wife believes that he did this to ensure she didn’t get out. When she was finished, Bauer again pushed her into the corner and told her not to move.
The complaint states that Bauer’s wife eventually got up and sat at the computer desk. Bauer pulled the cord out of the wall and told her, “He pays more of the bills so the computer was his.”
She finally got up and went upstairs and told Bauer she was going to bed. Bauer went upstairs, grabbed a shirt and then went back downstairs.
Bauer’s wife said she heard him call a friend and told her to come pick him up. Bauer was looking for a ride to work, since he works third shift. The complaint states that a little while later, a truck showed up to the home and Bauer left. Bauer’s wife told police that she believes he asked for a ride, “Because he wasn’t going to be able to pass his ignition interlock device on his car.”
The victim goes on to say that Bauer told her several times that if she called the police that he was going to harm her family. “He also told her that if he goes to jail somebody will post his bail and he will spend his whole life trying to harm her family.”
According to the complaint, the victim told Bauer that she never wants to see him again. She also said she doesn’t want to be with him, “because next time she thinks that she might not make it out alive.”
The responding officer also contacted Golden House and told them about the domestic disturbance that took place. The victim was to be contacted by Golden House about the incident.
This isn’t the first time Bauer has been charged following a domestic violence incident, after his October 2010 conviction for intimidating victim/dissuade reporting of domestic violence.
Bauer is due back in court February 4. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to 10 years in prison.
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