BAKER — A 31-year-old Army Special Forces soldier was arrested Sunday evening on charges of domestic battery, causing bodily harm and obstruction without violence.
Vaughn Nicholas Pottle and his fiancée were arguing at their Sarah Drive home after the woman learned Pottle had placed a recording device in her vehicle to document conversations, according to an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office press release.
Pottle revealed the recordings and attempted to interrogate a third party, which made the woman angry. The two began arguing in the master bedroom of their home until the woman locked herself in a spare bedroom where she intended to stay the night.
When the woman refused to open the door, Pottle kicked down the door. The woman left the room and the argument continued into the living room until it escalated in Pottle putting the woman into a chokehold.
Pottle lifted the woman over his head and slammed her on the floor, while keeping his hands around her neck, until she was unconscious.
“It should be noted, Mr. Pottle is an active duty Army Special Forces soldier with extensive training in hand-to-hand combat skills and has recent combat experience,” the arrest report states.
After regaining consciousness, the woman attempted to leave but was stopped when Pottle got onto the vehicle’s hood. He did not leave until the woman told a neighbor to call 911.
Pottle then got off the vehicle, told the woman to take care of their son and left to “kill himself,” the report states. Pottle then left the home and went to the Holiday Inn Express in Crestview.
When deputies attempted to arrest Pottle on Monday morning, he resisted until he was subdued by a Taser and placed under arrest, the report states.