SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane police have arrested a man who is accused of strangling his wife more than a dozen times.
Douglas Eggleston was in Spokane County court today for assault and harassment charges.
On Wednesday, Eggleston’s wife told Spokane police she feared for her life when his violent behavior spun out of control. She said Eggleston sent her several text messages threatening to burn their house down while she and their children were inside.
Spokane County Court documents say Eggleston and his wife have been married for 16 years and share two children.
Court records show he has a history of domestic violence dating back to 2009.
The victim told police he has assaulted her about 15 times, but not all incidents were reported. She said most of these assaults involved Eggleston strangling her.
Earlier this month, she said he assaulted her after they had an argument at a bar.
While at her car, documents say he beat and strangled her several times. She tried to get away and reached for her gun, but he wrestled it out of her hands and threw her into his truck. He continued assaulting her as he drove them home, according to court documents.
A doctor later diagnosed her with a ruptured ear drum and partial loss of hearing from the incident.
Police arrested Eggleston after taking the victim's statement at Deaconess hospital.
Eggleston told police he "could've" strangled his wife to stop her from killing herself. When police asked if he hit the victim, he said "that could have occurred."
Docs say Eggleston admitted to sending the threatening text messages, but claims he sent them get attention and did not mean it.
His wife also told police Eggleston consistently uses injectable anabolic steroids, cocaine, and alcohol.
Sergeant Jordan Ferguson is part of SPD's domestic Violence unit. He told KREM 2’s Amanda Roley, Washington state law makers have started to crack down on repeat violent offenders.
"One example is a court order violations,” Ferguson said. “Once you have two convictions in that arena, every other violation after that becomes a felony. And in 2017, they changed the law. So, if you have prior DV convictions after that date in 2017, that third one becomes a felony."
He explained the implications of this would be when the individual becomes a convicted felon, they lose some of their rights, including possessing a firearm. They would also spend years in prison rather than months.
"Our whole goal isn't to break up a relationship, or throw somebody in custody,” Ferguson said. “It's to stop this behavior. And if you can't stop it on your own, we’re going to help you stop it by putting in your programs… A lot of first-time offenders will go through a batter and intervention perpetrator treatment to get them to change the way they're thinking, in regards to domestic violence.”
Eggleston appeared in court Thursday on assault and harassment charges. He has no prior convictions.
In court, the judge found his threats to burn down his house with his wife and children in it to be very concerning.
This and other factors in the probable cause document led the judge to set Eggleston’s bond at $25,000. He currently remains in custody at Spokane County Jail.