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Man sentenced for assault captured on cellphone By Vickie Aldous Posted Apr 23, 2018 at 4:35 PM Updated Apr 23, 2018 at 6:28 PM A Medford man was sentenced to probation after his girlfriend captured part of an assault against her with her cellphone but then refused to cooperate with prosecutors. However, Chad Dean Barriga, 39, of the 200 block of Elm Street, could serve 25 to 30 months in prison if he violates the terms of his probation. He pleaded guilty Monday to fourth-degree assault. Charges of coercion, strangulation, unlawful use of a weapon, second-degree criminal mischief, interfering with a police officer, resisting arrest and harassment were dismissed as part of the plea agreement. Not including his latest conviction, Barriga has been convicted of domestic violence assaults on five different women from 2003 to 2014, according to a motion filed by Jackson County Deputy District Attorney Benjamin Lull, seeking to introduce evidence of his past actions. In the latest case, a security guard at a parking structure near Middleford Alley in downtown Medford called in a disturbance May 12, 2017, the motion said. Barriga's girlfriend, Christyna Thomas, told police he became angry at her over a donation she made during a charity auction and ripped her glasses off her face and pulled her hair as they walked back to her vehicle, the motion said. Thomas told police she ran to her car and locked herself inside, the motion said. "During the investigation the officer discovered the victim had made a recording on her phone which captured the interaction between the victim and defendant from just after she locked herself in her vehicle," the motion said. The officer played the recording from her cellphone and captured it on his own body camera, the motion said. Lull said the cellphone video did not capture visual images of the assault, but it did capture audio. Thomas told police Barriga threatened to damage her car, then grabbed a window that was partially open and pulled out on it until it shattered. Barriga allegedly grabbed her hair and pulled her to the ground, causing her head to bounce off the concrete, the motion said. Barriga allegedly punched Thomas in the stomach, then covered her nose and mouth and applied pressure to her throat, the motion said. Cellphone audio captured Barriga's expletive-laden threats against Thomas and her car, a crashing sound and the victim screaming in distress, the motion said. Police found the car with a shattered window in the parking garage and Barriga had a fresh bleeding cut on his arm, the motion said. Lull said that Barriga's defense attorney Jeffrey Siefman was able to negotiate a plea agreement in which his client did not receive a prison sentence in large part because Thomas refused to cooperate with the prosecution. "Without a victim, it limits what evidence we can introduce and makes the case thinner," Lull said. Lull said rules about how recordings can be used in trials are complicated. The audio from the cellphone would not have been enough to prove all of the charges, such as the strangulation charge, he said. A tearful Thomas appeared in court during Barriga's sentencing, saying she was sorry for causing the situation. "I know I sound like a manipulated victim, but that's not the case," she said. But Jackson County Circuit Judge Lorenzo Mejia said it was clear from the cellphone audio that she was being subjected to an assault. Thomas previously filed a petition to have a no-contact order between her and Barriga lifted, but her petition was denied by another judge. Barriga offered a different version of events about the 2017 incident. He said he and Thomas were drunk, but she wanted to drive and he was stopping her. Barriga said the car window ended up getting broken because she rolled his arm up in the window. Reach Mail Tribune reporter Vickie Aldous at 541-776-4486 or [email protected] . Follow her at www.twitter.com/VickieAldous . Most Popular Makerspace coming to Central Point Apr 18 at 11:27 AM Medford gun supporters prepare for ballot showdown Apr 21 at 5:04 PM Police: Cat killed during fight between couple Apr 19 at 6:36 PM A long view of home Apr 19 at 6:56 PM Letters to the Editor, April 21 Apr 23 at 7:31 AM Ashland magician Harry Anderson went on to TV success Apr 18 at 5:42 PM Woman charged in $7,000 Victoria's Secret underwear theft Apr 20 at 4:58 PM Medford School District proposes 33 new positions Apr 19 at 7:18 AM Man sentenced for raping, assaulting wife Apr 20 at 7:14 AM Roller Derby benefits kids battling cancer Apr 20 at 5:32 PM Since You Asked: Abandoned house has been an eyesore for years Apr 18 at 2:01 AM Data breach or 'bogeyman'? Apr 23 at 7:32 AM © Copyright 2006-2018 Rosebud Media LLC. All rights reserved. Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com ~ P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501