A 34-year-old Suquamish man was charged with second-degree assault after he allegedly attacked his girlfriend, a Bainbridge Island woman, at her North Madison apartment because he was jealous that the woman was still friends with her ex-husband.

Alexander Nicholas Dixon was charged with second-degree assault, a felony, on Nov. 18 in Kitsap County District Court.

Bainbridge police arrested Dixon just after 1 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 17 after officers responded to a 911 call by the Bainbridge woman.

The woman told officers that she had been dating Dixon for seven months, and said she picked him up at the ferry terminal at about 7 p.m. Sunday.

Dixon, she said, had been drinking in Seattle and appeared to be intoxicated. They went to her home in the 14400 block of North Madison Avenue for dinner, but Dixon allegedly became upset over the woman’s friendship with her ex-husband a few hours later.

The woman told police that Dixon “snapped” and began choking her with both hands.

She said she fought back. Dixon stopped choking her, she said, but then began to hit her.

When the woman tried to leave the apartment, Dixon would block the door, she told police, and start to beat her again.

The woman said she tried to leave several times, but each time Dixon would not let her go. She was unable to call police, she said, because her phone was in her car.

Eventually, she was able to get out of her apartment and ran over to her landlord’s, but Dixon followed her and pulled her down the stairs.

At some point, he allegedly grabbed her by the hair and pulled out clumps of hair.

She later broke away and ran to her car but found it locked. Dixon caught up and began beating her again, and started banging the woman’s head against the vehicle.

The woman said she fought back and was able to get away. She ran back up the stairs to her apartment, but when she got to the door, it was locked and Dixon came up behind her and tried to continue the assault.

The woman said she was able to break open her door, and she grabbed her spare car key.

After fending off another attack, she ran from the apartment and got into her vehicle and left.

When police interviewed the victim, they found she was not wearing shoes or socks. She had a large lump above her right eye, another above her right ear, and was red around her neck. She also had small scratches and bruises around her neck and also on her upper chest.

The woman also told police that Dixon had assaulted her before, when they first started dating, but she never reported it.

Officers found Dixon in the woman’s apartment, and he was arrested for domestic assault.

Police found a small bag of marijuana in his coat pocket. It was removed and left at the scene.

Dixon did not want to talk to police about what had happened, but acknowledged there had been a fight. He also asked several times if he would be able to be released from jail on personal recognizance.

Dixon was booked into Kitsap County Jail for assault and unlawful imprisonment. Bail was set at $50,000.