WALHALLA — A Westminster man is behind bars after allegedly choking a woman while their child was in another room, Walhalla Police reports indicate.

Timothy Lee Butts, 29, is charged with criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature.

Just after midnight Wednesday morning, Walhalla Police officers were dispatched to a Wagner Circle apartment complex. An anonymous caller told dispatch she heard a female screaming for help, and a male subject telling the female to be quiet, lest the police get called out to the scene.

When police determined which unit the incident was occurring in, a 34-year-old female yelled through the door that Butts would not let her open the door to allow police entry. Police entered the apartment on their own, and while doing so, noticed that Butts appeared to be jumping off of the victim.

Both the victim and subject appeared to be intoxicated, the report states, and the victim said Butts had choked her and put his hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. The female had minor marks to her throat and a scratch above her lip.

The pair’s child was present in a back room during the incident, being tended to by an acquaintance who said he heard the arguing and went to the room to check on the baby.

Department of Social Services developed a safety plan for the child. A grandparent picked up the juvenile.