A man escaped an attempted strangling Saturday evening while he was praying in a church near Sarnia’s downtown, says city police.
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The 23-year-old victim was alone praying inside a church at the corner of Christina Street and London Road when he was approached by an unknown male who placed a ligature around the victim’s neck and attempted to strangle him, Sarnia police said in a news release.
There was a struggle, and the victim was able to flee the church and call for help, police said.
Officers were called out to the church just before 7 p.m.
The victim was later treated at hospital, police said.
Officers searched the area and found that there had been an attempt to remove a security camera from the site.
Police said officers were able to identify a suspect and shared the information with neighboring police services.
A suspect was then arrested when he attempted to turn himself around shortly before midnight at the Point Edward OPP station and was transported to Sarnia police.
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Nocolas Ritonja, 38, of Sarnia has been charged with assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, mischief under $5,000 and uttering threats.
Police said the motive for the attack wasn’t clear but its believed “the potential consumption of illegal substances may have been an aggravating factor.”
OPP RIDE holiday checkpoints lead to 22 charges in Lambton County
Lambton OPP conducted 125 checkpoints as part of this year’s Festive RIDE program.
The checkpoints conducted between Nov. 24 and Jan. 25 led to 22 impaired driving charges in Lambton County, police said.
Officers also issued six suspensions as part of the holiday season enforcement program.
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