AUBURN — A Lisbon man accused of choking his girlfriend until she lost consciousness twice faces three related felony charges.

Bryan Danse Androscoggin County jail photo

An Androscoggin County grand jury indicted Bryan Danse, 38, on felonies, including aggravated assault, a Class B crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. He was also charged with domestic violence criminal threatening and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, both Class C crimes that carry a sentence of up to five years in prison. The grand jury charged him with obstructing the report of a crime or injury, a misdemeanor.

In an affidavit, police said a 37-year-old woman reported that Danse attacked her repeatedly at their Pinewoods Road home over two days starting Feb. 23. He would later denied her claims.

The two had argued as they returned home, escalating to Danse shoving her to the ground because she refused to go to the store to buy him beer and give him cigarettes, she told police.

When she tried to go to sleep, Danse pulled her off he bed and turned the mattress on top of her, she said. When she tried to phone police, Danse broke the phones in the home, she said.

As he pushed her out of the home, she got his cellphone and called 911, but wasn’t able to complete the call before he snatched the phone away, she told police.

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She retreated to her bedroom to await police. Danse threatened that if she talked to police “he would kill or shoot the police and then her,” according to the affidavit.

He told her he had acquired a shotgun from a former co-worker. She told police she had seen shotgun shells in the home, according to the affidavit.

She never spoke with police when they came to the home shortly after midnight, she said.

Danse told an officer the call was a misdial.

Afterward, he came back into the home and “began throwing her from wherever she sat down,” according to the affidavit.

She said he “headbutted” her cheek and choked her by putting his arm around her neck and squeezing until she blacked out twice. She said she had bitten his arm as he choked her. When she awoke, Danse was trying to drag her out of the home.

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The next day, after they awakened, she texted her mother on his phone. Her mother notified her father, who picked her up at the home and drove her to the police station where she filed a report. Her injuries were examined by a doctor at a Brunswick hospital, police said.

Danse has a prior conviction for domestic violence reckless conduct, police said.

When he talked to police later that day, he said he and his girlfriend had argued the day before and that she had gotten as physical with him as he had gotten with her. If he was going to be charged, then she should also be charged, he said.

He showed police scratches on his back and shoulder. He also showed bite marks to his right bicep area and left outer forearm, consistent with the girlfriend’s account of her biting in self-defense as he choked her.

Danse said he never threatened her or police and had actually encouraged her to talk to the police and “report whatever she wanted to.” He said she broke the phones, not him.

When he was questioned about the shotgun, he said he only had a pellet gun at the home.

During a police search of the home after securing a warrant, they found a 12-gauge shotgun in the garage along with ammunition. They also found the broken phones and other evidence consistent with the girlfriend’s story.

Danse is free on bail.


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