Newport Center man accused of choking a woman against a wall in the presence of a two-year-old child

A Newport Center man has been accused of choking a woman against a wall in the presence of a two-year-old child. Kenneth R. Handy, 54, pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of 1st-degree aggravated domestic assault with a weapon and misdemeanor charges of domestic assault and criminal threatening. Judge Howard E. VanBenthuysen ordered Handy held without bail. Handy is being detained at Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport. Vermont State Police responded on Dec. 18 at 9:44 a.m. to a report of a domestic dispute at a residence on Route 105 in Newport. Tpr. Anthony Rice spoke with the alleged victim in the case – a 24-year-old woman – who said Handy assaulted her during an argument.