By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — An argument between a man and his girlfriend escalated into an altercation on the side of Interstate 85 before the man tried to take off in her vehicle with her child inside, according to the Salisbury Police Department.

Police say the man’s ankle monitor led them to his location.

Police charged Dustin Craig Sutphin, 25, of the 1300 block of Tabernacle Street, Apartment B, with felony common law robbery, misdemeanor assault on a female, felony attempted motor vehicle theft, and misdemeanor interfering with emergency communications.

The couple argued about 7 p.m. Saturday in the northbound lane of South Jake Alexander Boulevard, according to police spokesman Lt. Greg Beam. The girlfriend called 911 but said Sutphin grabbed her cellphone and tried to drive off in the Subaru Forester with her 2-year-old son inside. The woman jumped into the car to prevent him from leaving.

Beam said the officer’s report said Sutphin threw her to the ground and grabbed her by the neck. Two motorists who saw the assault pulled over and blocked the vehicle with their own. Sutphin ran behind Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel, located at 1300 S. Jake Alexander Blvd.

Police used his ankle monitor to track him to the Sheetz convenience store at 1520 S. Jake Alexander Blvd. Beam said when they found Sutphin, officers asked him where the cellphone was and he told them he dropped it in the woods while running. However, an officer found the phone plugged into a charger inside the convenience store.

Sutphin was held in the Rowan County Detention Center for 48 hours under no bond hold because of the domestic nature of the offenses.