LEBANON – The suspect charged with aggravated assault who allegedly told police they wouldn’t be able to find him – and was then arrested 2 ½ hours later – faces up to 10 years in state prison if convicted of Class B felony aggravated assault for allegedly strangling a man during a fight.

A court affidavit by a Maine State Trooper seeking an arrest warrant for Sumner Knowles, 24, outlines what the alleged victim told him.

The alleged assault took place around 9 p.m. on Monday; Knowles had left the scene prior to the arrival of police at a River Road address.

According to the affidavit, the victim told Maine State Trooper Ryan S. DuBois that Knowles had told him he planned to return with a lead-filled bat.

The trooper wrote that both the strangulation victim and his girlfriend had injuries and were bleeding. Both declined medical attention.

The two told DuBois that they had gotten into a verbal argument with Knowles and his girlfriend and that the disagreement turned physical.

The male victim said Knowles pushed him and scratched, punched and kicked him and then wrapped his arm around the victim’s neck so that he couldn’t breathe, according to the court document, on file at York County Superior Court in Alfred. The victim told police his vision started to go black and that he lost feeling in his left arm. He said he tapped Knowles on the arm and repeatedly told him he couldn’t breath. Eventually, he said Knowles let go, then grabbed the victims’ girlfriend’s cell phone and allegedly smashed in over the victim’s head.

The trooper said he observed blood dripping from the victim’s elbow, scrapes on both knees, scratches on his lower back and a small egg-sized bump on his head. He said he examined the man’s neck for strangulation marks but didn’t see any bruising or red marks. He explained to the alleged victim that sometimes it takes time for strangulation injuries to show on the body.

The men’s girlfriends also fought physically, with the male victim’s girlfriend telling police the woman had ripped out her nose ring, that she was punched in the faces, and that her eyeglasses were broken. The trooper noted injuries.

Police searched for Knowles that evening to no avail, then applied for and received an arrest warrant the following day.

On Wednesday, police spoke to Knowles by telephone and that is when he allegedly told them he wouldn’t turn himself in, and that they would not find him.

Two and one-half hours later, police located Knowles in a car on Route 202 in Lebanon and took him into custody. He was taken to York County Jail in Alfred, where bail was set at $2,000, police said.

Knowles was expected to make his first court appearance at Biddeford District Court by video from the jail on Friday.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 780-9016 or twells@journaltribune.com.