A 24-year-old man is accused of choking and trying to rape a woman at a Clinton home Wednesday, Nov. 7, according to court documents.
Dederick R. Norwood Jr. was released from jail earlier this year after committing a similar crime in Oak Harbor, according to court records.
Thursday, Norwood made his preliminary appearance in Island County Superior Court through a video system from the county jail.
Judge Vickie Churchill found probable cause existed to believe Norwood committed the crimes of attempted rape in the second degree, unlawful imprisonment, assault in the second degree with sexual motivation and interfering with the reporting of domestic violence.
In court, Deputy Prosecutor Michael Safstrom asked Churchill to set Norwood’s bail at $250,000.
He pointed to the Oak Harbor case earlier this year in which Norwood fractured a woman’s skull after she refused to consent to a particular sex act.
“Six months later, he’s before the court again for essentially the same thing,” Safstrom said.
Churchill agreed to set bail at $250,000.
Norwood’s girlfriend reported to police that she was sleeping in bed when Norwood violently slapped her and attempted to have sex with her, according to the police report. The woman refused and left the bedroom, but Norwood followed her and was verbally aggressive.
The woman returned to the bedroom and locked herself in, but Norwood broke the door open. He choked her, threw her to the ground and threw her cell phone into the fireplace, the report states.
Norwood ripped the woman’s clothing off, dragged her and threw her on the bed, the report says. He threw her on the floor when she tried to get away. She continued to struggle as he blocked her from leaving, but she eventually made it to the front door.
The woman, naked except for a blanket, ran to the neighbor’s house for help, the report states.
When the police arrived at the house, they found that Norwood had spray painted graffiti on the house, making disparaging remarks about the woman, the report indicates.
In the earlier case, Norwood pleaded guilty to assault in the second degree and was sentenced to three months in jail.
