A 38-year-old man is facing assault charges after strangling a woman in a park in Greeley.

According to the Greeley Tribune, police responded to a woman caller in the 2300 block of 42nd Avenue Court, who said there was a woman who had been strangled in her front yard.

Once officers arrived at the scene, 26-year-old Zuri Lopez-Pedrego reported that the areas around her throat and neck were sore, and her stomach was burning where there was several abrasions.

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Arrest records indicate that Lopez-Pedrego told officers that she and her wife, Haidee Cervantes, were exercising at Greeley West Park during the morning of May 4. As they were stretching, they noticed a “creepy” man watching them from the bushes.

The couple reportedly attempted to walk away from the man, but he began to follow them.

The man was later identified as 38-year-old Travis Gutierrez by an officer who recognized him from a previous incident that occurred at the same park.

The Greeley Tribune says that the victim asked Gutierrez, “Are you being a creep?”, to which  he responded with, “It depends.”

Gutierrez ran away from the women, but Lopez-Pedrego went after him in order to get a better description of the suspect the police. Gutierrez suddenly stopped running and jumped on top of the victim, bringing her to the ground. He reportedly caused multiple injuries to Lopez-Pedrego’s abdomen area, and began strangling her with his right hand.

Lopez-Pedrego told police that she began to lose consciousness during the May 4 incident and believed she was going to die. She reported that she managed to get him off of her by kicking him in the groin area, then ran to a nearby house and asked the resident to call the police.

The victim wound up transporting herself to North Colorado Medical Center, where doctors confirmed serious bodily injury from strangulation.

Gutierrez was placed into custody after an officer spotted the suspect near 47th Avenue and 10th Street, walking eastbound on 10th Street. He later admitted to being in the bushes earlier that day and acting creepy, as well as throwing a woman down and strangling her.

Arrest records indicate that Gutierrez has been called in multiple times for acting suspicious in the park.

Travis Gutierrez is scheduled for an advisement hearing at 9 a.m. on June 28.

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