LIBERTY — A Youngstown man is set to appear back in court next week after he was accused of assaulting a woman.

Martez Williams, 24, pleaded not guilty to a charge of domestic violence in Girard Municipal Court on Wednesday. No plea was entered on his charge of strangulation, according to court records.

According to a police report, Liberty officers were called to a Monticello Boulevard residence in reference to an unknown problem, where dispatchers said a woman told them she was assaulted and being held hostage. However, she was able to get away before the officers’ arrival, waiting up the street at the Liberty Fire Department.

Upon speaking with the woman, the reporting officer noted she was visibly distraught, with visible swelling and fresh scratch marks on her left cheek. There were also faint scratches on both sides of her neck and redness, the report states.

The report states the woman told officers she was arguing with Williams throughout the day and went over to his place around 11:20 a.m, and there was already tension between them.

The woman said she and Williams were lying down together when the previous argument was brought up.

The report states things began to escalate from there, alleging Williams got on top of the woman, straddling and holding her down, then placing his hands around her neck and choking her.

The woman said Williams also struck her in the face, but she did not lose consciousness, eventually escaping and making her way to the bathroom.

The report states that while she was there, however, Williams took her phone and keys and refused to let her leave.

Each time she begged Williams to let her go, he reportedly started slapping her and pulling her hair, with the woman saying that Williams declared, “The only time you listen is when I beat you,” in a written statement to officers.

The report states the altercation lasted about 20 minutes before Williams agreed to return the woman’s phone and keys, giving her time to call the police.

Several units went to the residence and a perimeter was formed to ensure Williams did not run. Officers took him into custody with no incident.

Officers spoke with Williams, who said it was a rough morning and he and the woman have not seen eye-to-eye. Williams acknowledged that things got physical between the two of them, noting it to be “pushing and shoving.”

Williams declined to speak further when asked about the woman’s injuries, according to the report.

Williams was released on bond Wednesday, records show.

He is set to appear back in court Nov. 26.