The man charged last month for allegedly stabbing a Port Townsend woman had previously been arrested for strangling the same woman in March 2022.

John Lewis Allen remains in custody in Jefferson County Jail on $500,000 bail following his arraignment Feb. 24 for first-degree assault.

Allen entered a pleading of not guilty to the allegation he repeatedly stabbed a 42-year-old woman multiple times in the chest, neck, abdomen, and left leg after an argument in a mobile home on Pelican Place south of Port Townsend.

Court records show Allen, 50, had been arrested a year ago after the same victim told deputies that Allen beat her and tried to strangle her after an argument about a power outage.

The woman told authorities after the March 11, 2022 incident that Allen had put his hands around her neck and began to choke her, adding “every time I tried to catch my breath, his grip got harder,” according to a statement of probable cause for Allen’s arrest.

The victim said she “saw black and stars” as the choking continued.

The woman’s mother picked her up after the attack and they drove to the sheriff’s office to report the attack. A deputy inspected the woman for injuries and noted dried blood in her right nostril, along with red marks and bruising on her neck, and bruising around her right eye.

Allen was originally charged with second-degree assault/strangulation/domestic violence during his arraignment in March 2022. In June 2022, prosecutors amended the charge to fourth-degree assault, and agreed to continue the case until June 2023 if Allen committed no other crimes. In his agreement with prosecutors, Allen was ordered to get treatment with domestic violence moral reconation therapy. 

As part of that June 2022 agreement with prosecutors, Allen waived his right to a trial by jury and a speedy trial, and a judge can determine guilt by holding a bench trial.

A hearing to consider revoking the agreement for the March 2022 assault has been set for March 17.

Allen was arrested Feb. 20 after neighbors said they saw Allen and a woman arguing next to an RV parked next to a home on Pelican Place, and a witness allegedly saw Allen hitting the woman.

When a friend of a neighbor tried to stop the assault, Allen allegedly said something to the effect of “I will blow your head off!” He allegedly pulled the woman into the motorhome, where the assault continued.

Police and deputies called to the scene found Allen barricaded inside the motorhome and forced their way inside, finding Allen and a woman with serious stabbing injuries on the floor, according to court papers.

The woman sustained grievous injuries and was flown by a medical airlift helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.