Man accused of assaulting woman, stealing phone, calling to threaten her

A Langley man is being held in jail on a $25,000 bail bond and facing a long list of charges.

A Langley man is being held in jail on a $25,000 bail bond and facing a long list of charges for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, breaking her computer and stealing her phone, then repeatedly calling her from the stolen phone and threatening to kill her while a deputy was listening, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged 28-year-old Zackary J. Belmonte in Island County Superior Court Oct. 19 with assault in the second degree, intimidating a witness, theft in the first degree, felony harassment, malicious mischief in the second degree, felony violation of a court order and interfering with domestic violence reporting.

On Oct. 11, the alleged victim, a Freeland resident, reported that Belmonte bicycled to her home uninvited. Belmonte became mad at her outside the home, threw her to the ground and demanded that she get rid of a no-contact order against him, according to the report by a deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office.

Belmonte then allegedly threw her against furniture in the garage and choked her, the report states. She was able to get away and went to grab her cell phone, but he took it from her; she then tried to use her laptop to contact someone for help, but he bent the screen and broke it, the report states.

Belmonte grabbed a blanket and ran into the woods behind the house, the deputy wrote.

After the deputy arrived at the house, Belmonte used the stolen phone to call the woman, who had access to a different phone. He told her that he would kill her and burn down the house if she called law enforcement.

Deputies searched the area but weren’t able to find Belmonte. The woman didn’t feel safe with Belmonte hiding in the woods behind her house and left with her kids to stay somewhere safe.

Three days later, Belmonte turned himself in at the South Whidbey precinct office.

If convicted of the charges, Belmonte could face from three years and seven months to four years and nine months in prison under the standard sentencing range.