STONINGTON POLICE: K-9 TEAM LOCATES ASSAULT SUSPECT, VICTIM AFTER TRACK

Stonington — The police department said K-9 team Officer Earl Palmer and his dog, Odin, tracked an assault suspect and his injured female victim two miles through a wooded area Wednesday before locating them on Cove Road.

Officers responded to a home on Meadowlark Lane for a report of a domestic disturbance, and police said they learned that the assailant and his victim had left on foot. Police then began a track through the woods before locating the pair. The woman needed medical attention for exposure to the cold weather as well as a cut lip they say she suffered in the assault.

Police charged Tywan B. Richard, 27, of 22 Deer Ridge Road, Old Mystic, with third-degree assault and breach of peace.

Police said their investigation found that Richard grabbed the woman by the neck and shoved her into a wall, where her mouth hit a nearby fan. Police said Richard also struck the woman in the shoulder area.

Richard has a previous conviction for assault in 2010, in which he received a suspended prison sentence. Over the past four months he has been charged with breach of peace, possession of a controlled substance and failure to appear in court on three occasions. Those charges are pending. In 2015, he was charged in Stonington with third-degree strangulation, third-degree assault and third-degree robbery. The outcome of that case is not listed on the state judicial department database.