ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) —
A Florida man was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to numerous assault charges in a case that stemmed from an observant Asheville Regional Airport employee.
Andy Jesus Guzman, 37, pleaded guilty Thursday to assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, assault by strangulation and other charges for a violent assault on his intimate partner, the Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
On Jan. 6, an airport employee noticed a woman with severe bruising and swelling to her face, head and body waiting in line at the front ticket desk, the district attorney’s office said. The employee notified the Asheville Regional Airport Department of Public Safety.
Airport Public Safety Officer Dean Hannah helped the woman and her 4-year-old daughter get to a private waiting area, where it was determined they were fleeing the woman’s partner, the news release said.
The woman told law enforcement Guzman had attacked and held in her South Asheville apartment during the early morning hours of Jan. 6, repeatedly beating and strangling her in the couple’s bathroom, “using his hands and fists in a manner consistent with deadly weapons,” the news release said.
ARSON CHARGES FILED IN MONDAY FIRE IN ASHEVILLE
The woman said Guzman punched her multiple times in the face, eye, jaw, temple and body and she lost consciousness after he choked her against the wall, the news release said. The woman said she thought Guzman was going to kill her.
Airport Public Safety and Asheville Regional Airport staff helped the woman and her daughter board a flight and get to safety. After arriving at their destination, the woman was treated at a hospital and released, according to the news release.
Guzman was sentenced to 23 to 40 months in the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction. After serving this sentence, he will serve a second probationary sentence to be transferred to Florida. Guzman was also ordered to have no further contact with the victim.
HABITUAL FELON SENTENCED TO MORE THAN 10 YEARS IN PRISON AFTER GUILTY PLEA