Castroville man assaults girlfriend for several days, sentenced to prison

CASTROVILLE, Calif. (KION) A Castroville man was sentenced to nine years in prison for assaulting his girlfriend over the course of several days in a Salinas motel.

In May, 50-year-old David Gonzalez Lara and his girlfriend checked into the motel and argued over his use of alcohol. He then began assaulting her.

Investigators said Lara started by shoving apples down his girlfriend's throat, creating cuts on the inside of her mouth. After that, he poured alcohol on her face. That made her panic and choke, but also made the cuts in her mouth burn.

Lara then dragged her by her hair to the bathtub, where he punched her repeatedly. Investigators said he turned the water on and held her head under it. After that, he beat her with a wet towel, which he then used to strangle her until she lost consciousness.

Lara kept his girlfriend in the room for five days. He took her cell phone and ripped the room's phone from the wall so she could not call for help.

The woman escaped, but he found her and threatened to kill her if she did not get into the car. She got in because she said she was afraid for her life, but eventually got away and went to an emergency room. Staff there called for help.

Lara was charged with committing domestic violence causing great bodily injury.

Anyone experiencing domestic violence is asked to call the YWCA at 831-372-6300 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for help.