Goldsmith

ELKINS — An Elkins man is facing a felony charge after he allegedly attempted to strangle a woman.

Homer Clark Goldsmith, 55, of Elkins, is being charged with a felony count of strangulation and is being held in Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $15,000 cash-only bond set by Randolph County Magistrate Tracy M. Harper.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Randolph County Magistrate Court by Randolph County Sheriff’s Office Deputy S.R. Davis, on June 7, the officer was responding to Ward Road for a report of an altercation on the second floor hallway in an apartment building. On scene, the officer met with the alleged victim and was told she and Goldsmith were involved in a verbal altercation while walking down the hallway.

“When they entered the elevator, (the alleged victim) stated that Homer (Goldsmith) grabbed her by the throat and began to strangle her,” it states in the complaint.

According to the complaint, once the alleged victim and Goldsmith reached the first floor, he let her go and left the area. The alleged victim showed the officer where Goldsmith had grabbed her neck.

“I observed redness of her skin, in a band wrapping around her neck from front to back,” Davis writes in the complaint.

The officer took a statement from the alleged victim and offered to contact the on-call magistrate so she could obtain an emergency protective order, however she declined. She also declined being seen by emergency medical personnel. The officer explained options available to the alleged victim and took photographs of her injuries.

“While on scene, other residents described Homer (Goldsmith) as manipulative and aggressive,” Davis writes in the complaint.