Man gets community control for holding woman

A Lorain man who held a woman against her will in their shared apartment was sentenced to two years of community control Aug. 6.

Sherman M. Williamson Jr., 33, pleaded guilty June 11 to charges of domestic violence and unlawful restraint for the Sept. 7, 2017, incident.

As part of the sentence, Williamson will spend 29 days in the Lorain County Jail and will be kept under standard supervision throughout his time on community control.

A Lorain police report on the incident indicated officers responded to an apartment in the 400 block of Delaware Avenue after several neighbors called to report screams.

The 25-year-old female victim told police she had lived in the apartment with Williamson for about six months and an argument broke out between the two when she told him she wished to end their relationship.

Their argument became physical with Williamson choking her several times before throwing her down on a bed where she lost consciousness while attempting to fight back, the report said.

Police observed red scratch marks on the woman’s neck, which seemed to corroborate her claims of violence, according to the report.

As officers investigated the incident, they noticed that Williamson had modified the door in order to keep the woman from escaping.

The woman showed them a long wood screw angled into the door’s frame, which kept it from opening from inside or out, according to the report. Several screwdrivers also were found near the door.