DA: Riverhead Man Convicted Of Physically, Mentally Abusing Girlfriend

A Riverhead man was convicted Thursday of all charges in an eleven-count indictment related to physical and emotional abuse of his girlfriend in August, 2012, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said.

According to the DA, Travis James, 32, choked and briefly smothered his girlfriend during the altercation.

James, who was convicted two-and-a-half years ago of violating orders of protection, is a “serial abuser” who the DA said deserves state prison time for his behavior.

“Our evidence presented at this bench trial also included proof the defendant repeatedly made harassing phone calls to the victim in violation of the order of protection," Spota said. He added that James also “delivered the threatening message to his ex-girlfriend, through an emissary, to not come to court”. 

According to Spota, during the Aug. 4, 2012 argument, which took place in a home on Fanning Boulevard in Flanders that James shared with the woman, he “put both of his hands around her neck and threw her onto her bed.”

The DA added that James pinned the woman down and “held a throw pillow over her face, obstructing her breathing for several seconds.” 

James pled guilty to two counts of criminal contempt in the first degree on March 9, 2010 and because of a past conviction, will be considered a prior felony offender at his Dec. 23 sentencing before Judge William Condon, Spota said.

James was convicted on two counts of aggravated criminal contempt, a felony, which carries a minimum of two to four years and a maximum of three and a half to seven years. He was convicted on three counts of criminal contempt in the first degree, a felony, one count of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, a misdemeanor, three counts of criminal contempt in the second degree, a misdemeanor, harassment in the second degree, a violation, and one charge of aggravated criminal contempt, a felony.

According to Spota, if he gets the maximum sentence for the felony charges, James faces anywhere between nine and a half to 19 years behind bars.

James is incarcerated in lieu of $250,000 cash bail in the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverside.