Suncoast man could get 29-years after being convicted of Domestic Battery by Strangulation, Tampering with a Victim/Witness

State Attorney Ed Brodsky announced today that Abraham Moises Contreras Perez was convicted of Domestic Battery by Strangulation, Tampering with a Victim/Witness, Solicitation of a Third Party to Violate Pretrial Release and nine counts of Violation of Pretrial Release in Case #2024CF005075NC after a three-day jury trial in front of Judge Thomas Krug. The jury returned a guilty verdict on all twelve counts on March 11, 2026. The crime was committed on May 24, 2024, and investigated by Sarasota Sheriff’s Office.
 
The crime carries a maximum possible sentence of more than 29 Years of incarceration.
 
Law enforcement was contacted when a neighbor called 911 after seeing the defendant drag the victim (his girlfriend and mother of his child) into their house. Deputies Angelo Akyan and Luke Conklin of the Sarasota Sheriff’s Office arrived to find the defendant strangling the victim in the bedroom of the house. The deputies pulled the defendant off of her, likely saving her life. The victim recounted that she could see the ceiling fan slowing down as he strangled her before deputies miraculously stopped him.
 
When the victim later signed a waiver of prosecution, the State Attorney’s Office launched a new investigation into witness tampering, finding that defendant had called her more than 78 times in violation of the court’s no contact order and also solicited at least one other person to pressure her to drop charges. This simply made the defendant’s situation worse.
 
At trial, the defense alleged the incident was self-defense based on the neighbor’s testimony that she saw the victim hit the defendant with something and the later discovery that the defendant had fractured orbital bones around his eye. However, Assistant State Attorney Liana Whipple argued in Closing arguments that the defendant’s injuries were from an accident that predated this incident and that the victim was merely acting in self-defense herself.
 
The lead prosecutor in the case, Assistant State Attorney Nicholas Lata commented, “This case demonstrates that our office will prosecute serious domestic violence cases with or without a cooperative victim. Tampering with victims will only ensure more serious felony charges against the defendant. In the end, we were able to persuade the victim to testify in spite of the defendant’s persistent tampering and justice was served.”
 
If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact Assistant State Attorney Nicholas Lata in the Sarasota County office at 941-861-4400.