KOSCIUSKO — A Syracuse man faces domestic battery charges following an altercation where he was accused of hitting his girlfriend with a bench.

Austin Joseph Nine

Austin Joseph Nine, 33, 11637 N. Elm Grove Drive, Syracuse, is charged with domestic battery with a child under 16 present, a level 6 felony and domestic battery, a class A misdemeanor.

According to an affidavit from the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department, officers were called to the residence on Elm Grove Drive on June 9 to investigate a domestic disturbance.

Upon arrival, police interviewed a woman at the residence who told officers that she and her boyfriend, identified as Nine, had been arguing. She said she went outside and when she came back inside the residence, she saw Nine with a bench lifted approximately shoulder high. She said Nine struck her with the bench, hitting her in the right forearm and left ear, causing pain.

She told police a juvenile was present in the yard when the altercation occurred. Police reported the woman had redness to her ear and bruises and a lacerations on her right forearm.

According to the police report, Nine admitted throwing the bench, but stated he threw it outside the residence and that the woman walked into the path of the bench, causing her to be struck by the flying furniture.