EPHRATA — A Moses Lake man allegedly punched and choked his girlfriend after she informed him she wanted to break up with him.

Grant County prosecutors charged Eliazar Ramos, 37, of Moses Lake, with second-degree assault.

About 8:45 p.m. on May 28 the Moses Lake Police Department received a report of a woman running south on Road L from Wheeler Road toward Nelson Road. Police were told the woman was bleeding from her face and didn’t have a shirt on.

Police were told the woman was picked up by a concerned citizen, as she appeared to have been beaten up and was bloody. When a MLPD officer contacted the woman a substantial portion of the left side of her face was swollen and turning black. She reportedly had a cut to her right cheek and her nose was swollen and bloody, according to police records.

The victim told police she was attempting to break up with her boyfriend, Ramos, and he got upset and punched her in the face, neck and head numerous times. Ramos and the woman were reportedly in a pickup truck heading south on Road L when Ramos started to hit the woman.

She reported jumping out of the truck and attempting to get away from Ramos. As she was exiting the truck, Ramos allegedly grabbed her by the neck to stop her. She was eventually able to get free and kept running until she was picked up by a passerby. The victim was transported to Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake and advised she was staying with Ramos on Road H.1 Northeast. She stated she didn’t believe Ramos would return to the area and didn’t know where he had gone.

Later in the night police spoke with the victim’s mother at Samaritan Hospital, who stated Ramos has been continually threatening her daughter’s life and the lives of her family members. The victim confirmed her mother’s statement, telling police that Ramos had told her in the past she needed to stay with him, “or else he would start killing her family members off.”

The woman’s mother warned police that she had heard Ramos carries around a handgun and other types of weapons. Hospital staff diagnosed the victim with a concussion and a fractured nose.

On June 1 a MLPD officer located Ramos during a traffic stop and he was placed in custody. The MLPD officer reportedly located a Airsoft handgun underneath Ramos’ seat. The officer stated that the gun “appeared like a real handgun.”

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.