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CORTLAND -- A Lakeview Board of Education candidate was arrested Tuesday, accused of strangling and threatening a person with whom he lived with a mini sledge hammer.
Stephen Bott, 57, of Stonewood Drive, faces a felony count of strangulation, three counts of misdemeanor domestic violence and a single charge of misdemeanor aggravated menacing.
Bott remains in Trumbull County jail where his bond was set at $80,000.
Bott is a political candidate in the Lakeview Local School Districts Board of Education race in which he faces political opponents Jennifer Nicholas and Taylor Pease.
A heavily redacted Cortland police report indicates police responded about 10 p.m. Tuesday to a domestic disturbance call that possibly involved a hammer.
Police arrived to find Bott and another man inside the garage. Officers indicated that Bott smelled of alcohol and had what appeared to be blood on his sweatpants.
Police sought to speak with residents inside the home, but Bott declined to allow officers access without a warrant, a police report states. Instead, Bott called for a person inside to come out.
The alleged victim, described by police as "shaken and embarrassed," spoke with police in the driveway.
The alleged victim's identity, including gender, was redacted from the report because of new Ohio law that limits release of victim information.
The person listed in the report as the victim had red marks and an abrasion. The victim told police Bott came home drunk, and they began arguing. The victim said Bott shouted derogatory names and grabbed the victim's shoulder and neck. The victim escaped his grasp and entered a bedroom, locking the door.
The report states Bott grabbed a hammer and pounded at the door. The victim called a friend from inside the bedroom. The victim exited the home through a window.
A witness inside the home told police he or she didn't see Bott attempt to strangle the victim, but overheard him say, "I'm going hit you and kill you," before grabbing a small sledge hammer, the report states.
One witness inside the home told police all he or she remembered was hearing sounds of the hammer hitting the door and the victim screaming, "Get away from me. Get away from me!"
In the aftermath, police said a white door leading into a bedroom had marks appearing to be from the hammer, along with blood on the door and the frame being cracked down the middle.