Nolan Crim
(PCSD file photo)
By Patti Weaver
STILLWATER — A 35-year-old Stillwater man, who remains jailed on $50,000 bond, avoided a jury trial this week on charges of strangling his girlfriend and resisting arrest by pleading guilty to both counts.
Because Nolan Robert Crim does not have an agreement with the prosecution regarding his penalty, he could be given as much as a four-year prison term at his sentencing on Aug. 8 before Payne County District Judge Jason Reese.
Crim had been arrested about 20 minutes after Stillwater Police Officer Joey Johnsonbaugh was sent to a gas station at 4:12 pm on Aug. 26, 2024, to talk to the woman who had been choked, an affidavit said.
She was “extremely upset, and she was crying, fearful and nervous. She spoke rapidly, and I had to calm her down to get her to explain to me what occurred.
“While she was speaking with me, I observed redness around her neck and cheeks, along with two slight puncture marks on the left side of her neck,” the officer wrote in his affidavit.
She said she had been dating Crim for about a month; “she said that Nolan is psychotic and believes that she is an informant,” for police or government, the affidavit said.
She said, “Nolan is always on edge and was protecting the house when he came up to her and punched her with a closed fist to the left side of her face. Nolan then open-handed slapped her on the right side of her face. After that is when Nolan put his hands around her neck.
“She said that Nolan strangled her twice and made several statements while doing so. She recalled Nolan saying ‘Have you ever seen someone be killed? Have you ever felt your neck being snapped? Do you know how easy it is to kill someone?’
“She said after that he made the comment about her neck being snapped, that is when he started to tilt her head to the side and rotate it backward in the fashion that a person would be able to break the neck. She said that while being strangled, she had difficulty breathing; her voice was raspy and hoarse as she spoke.
“She said that she experienced dizziness, nausea, a headache and disorientation. She complained of coughing, difficulty swallowing, and a sore throat. She was evaluated by ambulance (staff) but refused to be transported.
“She mentioned that Nolan came back up to her and placed his mouth on the left side of her neck and bit down leaving two puncture marks on her neck. Nolan told her, ‘This is your last chance. You can see my fang marks in the mirror.’ She said that Nolan forced her into the bathroom so that she could see the marks on her neck in the mirror.
“After that is when Nolan told her to go to the gas station to get him beer and money. She was able to leave the residence which stopped the attack.
“She stated that Nolan had set rules for her while they were dating. She said that she was not allowed to point at him or walk behind him at any time. She was only to respond to Nolan by saying ‘Yes, sir.’ She was not allowed to see any family members while he was there and could not leave the house without him or his permission.
“She is scared of Nolan because he knows where all her family members stay, and she is fearful that he could come back and hurt them once he gets out of jail,” the affidavit said.
She said she was going to stay with a relative for the night, the affidavit said.
When two other officers went to Crim’s residence, a small scuffle ensued while they attempted to detain him as he resisted their commands, the affidavit said.
Crim had been convicted in 2022 of possessing methamphetamine and assaulting a Perry police officer in 2020, for which he was placed on probation for a year, Noble County court records show.
