BEAN BLOSSOM — A Brown County man faces two felonies after police say he pushed a woman, tried to keep her from leaving the house and choked her.

Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Eggebrecht responded to a disturbance at an apartment on State Road 135 North at around 12:20 a.m. July 4. The woman told police that she had been living with Charles Michael Beauchamp, 54. She said they had had a violent past and had a protective order against him, Eggebrecht’s report says.

Beauchamp had picked the victim up from work on July 3, and he had been drinking, she told police. He continued to drink at least 12 beers when he returned home, the officer’s affidavit states.

The victim said Beauchamp became agitated and began to bring up past issues. He began to push her, yelling at her and calling her names. She attempted to climb out a window, but Beauchamp prevented her and took her phone so she couldn’t call police, the affidavit said.

Beauchamp then choked the woman and she told police she had difficulty breathing. She also reported Beauchamp spit at her several times.

After talking with the woman, the officer tried to make contact with Beauchamp who was allegedly still in the apartment, but no one answered the door.

Eggebrecht, Deputy Austin Schonfeld and Nashville Police Officer Michael Williams served a search warrant on the apartment, but no one was home. Photos were taken of a shelving rack that was dumped over in the kitchen where the victim described trying to climb out of the window, and of a broken chair in the living room.

Eggebrecht found Beauchamp at his apartment on July 12. He denied being the aggressor. He said the woman showed up at his home and took his car without permission, and when she returned, she tried to fight him and he pushed her off before leaving, the affidavit said.

At that time, Beauchamp was on probation in Monroe County for a domestic battery-related charge to which he had pleaded guilty. He was charged in Brown County July 13 with domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor; strangulation, a Level 6 felony; and invasion of privacy, a Class A misdemeanor.

While strangulation means the act of killing by squeezing the throat, Indiana law defines it as intentionally applying pressure to another person’s throat or obstructing their nose or mouth.