WIlkes Woman Choked During Fight, Taken to WRMC

Sheriff deputies have issued warrants for a man alleged to have tried to choke his mother-in-law during a fight over a telephone. Deputies were called to the man's home a little before 9 last night, and found Karen Cleary with obvious bruising on her neck, complaining that she was having problems breathing. She was taken to Wilkes Regional for treatment. Cleary and her daughter Angela, who is the wife of suspect Gregory Cardwell, told deputies Cardwell had grabbed Karen by the throat and dragged her from the kitchen to the living room of the house. They say he also hit her head on the floor and continued trying to choke her, until Angela intervened and got him off her mother. He then allegedly threatened them, saying if they called the law, they'd regret it. Deputies charged Cardwell with Assault and communicating threats.