Bradenton woman charged with choking daughter

MANATEE -- A waitress was arrested Monday for choking her daughter while trying to keep her from leaving the house, according to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.

Sonia Gutierrez, 30,, who works at El Paisano, took her daughter's cell phone away from her Monday afternoon as punishment for taking the car without permission, according to an arrest report. Gutierrez got the phone by grabbing her daughter's hair and throwing her on the bed. The daughter's age was not specified.

The girl then tried to leave the house and Gutierrez blocked the doorway, deputies said. When the girl still tried to leave, Gutierrez grabbed her left wrist and bent it "painfully," according to the report.

Gutierrez then used her other hand to grab the girl around the throat for about 40 seconds, and the girl told deputies there were multiple 10-second periods when she couldn't breathe.

Gutierrez let her daughter go when she realized that she couldn't breathe, according to the report. The deputy observed fingernail marks and fresh bruising and redness on the girl's neck, consistent with a human hand applying pressure to the area.

Gutierrez was arrested at 4:19 p.m. and charged with child abuse without great harm. She was released from the Manatee County jail Tuesday on $1,500 bond.

Deputies placed the girl in her aunt's custody and notified child protective services of the incident.

This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 8:16 AM with the headline "Bradenton woman charged with choking daughter ."