A Mars man was arrested for allegedly strangling and beating his girlfriend.

Adams Township Police arrested Brandon W. McCaslin, 27, shortly after being called to the scene of a report of domestic violence around 11:42 a.m. Friday on the 200 block of Adams Pointe Boulevard.

Following his arraignment by District Judge Lewis Stoughton, he was placed in Butler County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bond.

According to charging documents, a third party reported the dispute and forwarded photographs of injuries to the woman involved.

Police said talked to McCaslin's girlfriend, who denied the event occurred.

“She again denied any injuries and said that they should not have called us,” police said. “I did note that (she) did have some dried blood to the right corner of her mouth, and her lips looked swollen in this area as well.”

Police said they spoke with the person who sent them the photographs. During further conversation, one of the officers heard a sound, checked the door for officer safety and found McCaslin just on the other side of the door.

Police said they asked McCaslin to step outside, and brought his girlfriend around the corner of the house to talk privately. Police said the woman continued to deny there was a physical altercation and her injuries, despite being pressed about the report saying she was choked.

“I asked her about being choked out, and she said that she didn't even have any marks on her neck,” police said. “I told her that she actually did have some petechiae on her neck.”

Petechiae appear as reddish spots and resemble a rash. Physical injury and trauma are one of the known causes of the condition.

Police said McCaslin argued with officers and asked if he was being detained.

“At this point, I had probable cause to arrest Brandon McCaslin due to viewed injuries and third-party information,” police said.

A preliminary hearing for McCaslin is scheduled Sept. 21 before District Judge Wayne Seibel.

McCaslin appeared before Seibel recently in another domestic case involving the same woman in which both were charged with misdemeanor simple assault.

According to charging documents in that case, police said the two were fighting, which caused a cut to McCaslin's finger and head, and the woman had a scratch on her forehead and red marks on her throat and back.

The cases against both have been resolved at the district level with both receiving nontraffic citations in lieu of criminal convictions.