Man charged with attempted murder

PALMER -- A Big Lake man has been arrested for first-degree attempted murder and three other charges after allegedly strangling his girlfriend.

Alaska State Troopers took Timothy D. Durham into custody Saturday at 8 a.m. when they served an arrest warrant. Troopers were tipped off by a citizen that Durham was at a Mat-Su residence. He had been missing since the Nov. 9 domestic-violence assault, according to charging documents.

Durham, 32, was lodged at Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility with bail set at $50,000 cash and a court-appointed, third-party custodian.

Attempted first-degree murder is a class A felony carrying a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison and maximum fine of $250,000. In addition, Durham was charged with first-degree vehicle theft, a class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and $50,000 fine; driving while license revoked, a misdemeanor; and violating a court-ordered condition of release, also a misdemeanor.

In a court affidavit, Trooper Dugger Cook said Durham was driving his girlfriend's car in the early morning hours of Nov. 9 while they argued about picking up her children from her mother's house before returning home. Durham suddenly stopped the car and pulled the woman by the hair through the driver's side front door, charging documents said.

He threw her to the ground, climbed on top of her and began strangling her, according to Cook's affidavit.

"Durham continued to strangle [the victim] for approximately 30 seconds, all the while screaming 'I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you,'" the court document said, adding she was unable to breathe.

Then Durham drove away in the woman's car without her permission, according to the affidavit. The woman told Cook she never let Durham operate the car alone because she had been appointed by the court as his 24-hour sight and sound custodian. She also knew he didn't have a driver's license, court documents said.

Cook said the woman had a red lump on her head and red marks on her neck when he interviewed her.

A computer check showed Durham's driver's license had been revoked from Aug. 3 until Aug. 2, 2004, and that required insurance was not on file. Cook said Durham, who has family in Oklahoma, had shown himself to be a flight risk. Therefore, Cook requested the arrest warrant.