A Salisbury man remains in jail this morning facing charges of assault and kidnapping after an overnight fight with his girlfriend turned violent. Salisbury Police say Rusty Dale Ray Propst, 21, pushed, kicked and threatened to “hog tie” his girlfriend if she tried to leave their Mahaley Avenue apartment.
Propst, of the 300 block of Mahaley Avenue, is charged with misdemeanor assault on a female and felony kidnapping. He remains in the Rowan County Detention Center without bond.
A neighbor heard the fighting and called authorities early this morning at 2:30 a.m., but officials say the argument began Monday night around 11 p.m. The neighbor told police they heard the woman screaming that Propst was “trying to kill her.”
She tried to leave the apartment, but Propst dragged her back inside then threatened her, saying if she tried to leave again he would hog tie her. When police arrived this morning, they heard screaming coming from the apartment. Propst came to the door and the officer asked him if everything was OK. Propst responded that it was and they’d had an argument. His girlfriend stood behind him shaking her head indicating to the officer they were not OK, a report said.
She told police he shoved her, kicked her and slammed her head against the floor. The victim had marks on her shoulder, arm, neck and upper lip, a report said.
Police confiscated a pocketknife from Propst. This is not the first time police were called regarding a fight between the couple. In October, police were called to the apartment in response to a domestic incident. In that incident the girlfriend tried to leave the apartment during the argument and Propst pulled her back inside, tearing off her shirt and bra in the process. She went inside during that incident and retrieved a meat cleaver. It is not clear if she used it. Police found a shotgun, a report said. The victim refused to press charges, but police charged Propst with discharging a firearm within city limits.