LCPD: Man attempted to strangle girlfriend while holding on to infant daughter

Police arrested a man accused of trying to strangle his girlfriend while he held their 17-day-old daughter in a chest-mounted baby carrier.

Police said 31-year-old Raymond Lonergan, of the 800 block of Alamo Street, is charged with child abuse, aggravated battery against a household member, criminal damage to property and interference with communications.

Officers arrived at the couple’s home to investigate a domestic dispute at about noon on Monday, May 27, 2019.

Investigators learned Lonergan and his girlfriend were arguing over a $30 neck brace that would help support their infant daughter’s head while the baby is carried in a chest-mounted baby carrier.

While Lonergan carried their daughter in the carrier, he began calling his girlfriend disparaging names, police said. The woman told police she tried to call Lonergan’s mother, but Lonergan grabbed her cell phone and smashed it to the ground outside their apartment.

The woman told investigators she grabbed the broken cell phone and went back into the home to call police.

“With their daughter still in the baby carrier, Lonergan allegedly followed his girlfriend into a bedroom, shoved his girlfriend onto the bed, got on top of her, placed his left forearm across her throat and strangled her,” said police in a news release, “He’s also accused of placing his fingers in her mouth which made it difficult for his girlfriend to breathe.”

Police said Lonergan took both phones outside and shattered them on the ground. Officers arrived shortly and located Lonergan inside the home where he was detained.

During the police interview, Lonergan allegedly “corroborated most of the allegations made against him,” said police.

Lonergan was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center where he’s initially being held without bond.