A Quilcene man accused of choking his ex-girlfriend during a dispute over their 3-year-old daughter plans to claim self-defense during his upcoming trial on second-degree assault.

Documents filed in Jefferson County Superior Court note that Luke Alan McCormick, 27, will rely on a defense of general denial, as well as self-defense, during his trial.

McCormick entered a pleading of not guilty at his arraignment Aug. 12.

His trial has been set for Oct. 31 to Nov. 3.

McCormick is facing a felony charge of second-degree assault, with added allegations of strangulation and domestic violence within sight or sound of a minor, following his arrest Sunday, July 31 in Quilcene.

Deputies were called to McCormick’s home just before 6 a.m.  after 911 dispatchers received a hang-up call, then called back and heard a man say, “there was no emergency.”

McCormick’s ex-girlfriend told deputies she had come from her home in Kingston to stay at her ex-boyfriend’s home to watch their 3-year-old daughter and take care of McCormick’s dogs while he went to a wedding. The two share custody of the girl.

According to court documents, McCormick's ex-girlfriend was asleep on the couch with the child when he came home from the wedding intoxicated, “raging” about someone telling him to move his car at the wedding.

She said he tried to rip the child out of her arms while she and her daughter were lying on the couch so the toddler could sleep with him, but she told him no because he was a heavy sleeper and and she was afraid he would roll over on her because he was drunk.

An argument ensued, and a tug of war over the child began. After McCormick allegedly went into the bedroom with the child, she said she followed and began recording the incident with her phone. She said McCormick took her phone and kicked her in the face. 

He then got “extra mad,” she said in court documents, grabbing her and pushing her face into a pillow. When she started scratching at him, McCormick allegedly started choking her.

The woman told deputies she kicked him and got away, while calling for an Alexa device to call 911. When that didn’t work, she ran out of the house and went to the neighbor’s house.

She also said that McCormick threatened to call 911 during the incident, and she told him to go ahead and do it, and authorities learned McCormick did call 911. He admitted to deputies that he had called, but added that he hung up because he “didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.”

When asked if he had put his hands on his ex-girlfriend, McCormick allegedly told a deputy he had “pushed her off of him” during the dispute, according to a statement of probable cause.

McCormick had a strong odor of alcohol about him when interviewed by a deputy, and a portable breath test was given, and had a reading of .147 blood alcohol content.