Man accused of threatening to kill woman, himself faces felony
A 47-year-old Port Washington man whose girlfriend accused him of holding a box cutter to her throat and threatening to kill her before taking his own life during an Aug. 19 domestic dispute now faces several charges in Ozaukee County Circuit Court.
Jeffrey M. Woyak, who according to a criminal complaint later said he feigned being suicidal to garner his girlfriend’s sympathy, is charged with one felony count of second-degree recklessly endangering safety and misdemeanor counts of possessing a firearm while intoxicated, battery and disorderly conduct with the use of a dangerous weapon.
Woyak is being held in county jail in lieu of $15,000 bail and was scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing last week. That hearing was rescheduled after his lawyer requested his case be transferred out of Judge Joseph Voiland’s court.
According to the criminal complaint, police were called to a home on the city’s near north side by Woyak’s girlfriend, who said that after receiving a text message from him in which he threatened suicide she went to the house and found him in the basement holding his hand as if he were holding a gun. She said it was dark and she couldn’t determine if he actually had a gun.
The woman said she ran to a plastic gun case, which she and Woyak struggled over. Then, she said, she ran to a lunch cooler where Woyak kept two handguns and the struggle continued. Eventually, Woyak let go of the cooler and the woman grabbed it and ran out of the house to her car, the complaint states.
The woman later returned to the house and found Woyak holding a retractable razor knife to his throat. She said he then held the knife to her throat and threatened to kill her before committing suicide, according to the complaint.
The woman said she fought with all her strength to free herself from Woyak, then ran upstairs and called 911.
Officers found one unloaded handgun in the gun case and two loaded handguns in the cooler. Additional magazines of ammunition and the razor knife were also found in the house, according to the complaint.
Woyak told officers that he pretended to be suicidal to garner the sympathy of his girlfriend, who wanted him to move out, the complaint states.
Officers said Woyak smelled of alcohol. A preliminary test indicated he had a blood alcohol level of .157, about twice the .08 threshold for evidence of intoxication, according to the complaint.
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