New Smyrna Beach police officer charged with felony domestic battery by strangulation

A New Smyrna Beach police officer was charged with felony domestic battery after she was accused of hitting and choking her fiancé during a confrontation over text messages involving another man, according to a charging affidavit.

Jessica A. Schuchardt, 30, was charged with domestic battery by strangulation, a felony, and battery, a misdemeanor, according to the affidavit. She was arrested Tuesday and released the next day from the Volusia County Branch Jail after posting $6,000 bail.

In the affidavit, her fiancé identifies a person named Robert Claudio as the other man.

The News-Journal on Friday requested any internal affairs reports on Schuchardt and New Smyrna Beach Officer Robert Claudio.

Deputy Chief Chris Kirk responded that “the internal affairs investigations involving these officers are actively being conducted and no responsive record yet exists.”

Schuchardt "is on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the internal affairs investigation," Kirk wrote.

Schuchardt has been engaged to her fiancé since May 30 and the pair live together, according to the affidavit. They have been in a relationship for 2.5 years.

The victim said that on Tuesday Schuchardt came home intoxicated. He said she had been at another woman’s house drinking all day and her speech was slurred and her eyes were glazed. She also was holding a large beer can.

He said Schuchardt set her phone on the counter and then fell asleep in the master bedroom.

He then opened up her phone and found messages regarding sex acts on a specific day from a Robert Claudio. The fiancé said he knew that happened “at work” because he knew Schuchardt’s schedule.

The fiancé said he went into the bedroom, slammed the door and told Schuchardt “to get up and get the (expletive) out.” He told her he had seen the messages from Claudio.

The victim said Schuchardt grabbed him by the throat and pushed him into a corner, the affidavit stated.

He said he pushed her hands off and left, but she followed him. He said she grabbed him again by the neck.

He was able to get away again and told her he didn’t want to have a conversation, he just wanted her to get out.

Fiancé says she put him in a 'rear naked choke'

The victim said Schuchardt then jumped on his back and put him in a “rear naked choke hold,” the affidavit stated. They fell to the floor.

Schuchardt dug her nails into his neck while choking him, he said.

He said that during the incident she punched and slapped him.

He said he was able to roll out of the choke and get away from her, the affidavit stated. He then went outside and called 911.

The victim said he never struck Schuchardt during the incident but did push her somewhere in the torso when she tried to grab the cellphone, the affidavit stated.

The victim said that there had been three prior physical altercations: one shove, one grab and one punch to “his arm while drinking but nothing to be concerned about.”

He had a scratch on his Adam’s apple and fresh blood, and small red marks on each side of his neck appearing to be scratches. He also had red marks on the back of his neck with slightly lacerated skin, the report stated.

The victim had a contusion/lacerated skin on the inside of his lip which appeared to be swollen.

Schuchardt denied any physical altercation had taken place, the report stated.

She said she was awoken by the victim yelling and accusing her of cheating on him. She said she did not remember the details of the argument. She said she tried to take the phone and talk “like adults.”

She said when she heard him talking to 911, she went into the bedroom to stay separated from him.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: New Smyrna Beach police officer charged with felony domestic battery