Virginia man accused of choking woman, abusing kid outside Pike County church

PIKE COUNTY, Ky. (FOX 56) — A Virginia man was arrested on Tuesday after security camera footage captured video of a man allegedly choking a woman and abusing a child in the parking lot of the Hardy Church of Christ on Highway 319.

According to a uniform citation, the security video footage allegedly showed a man “abusing” a child in the parking lot before a woman got out of the vehicle they had been in and vomited.

Troopers with KSP Post 9 in Pikeville were reportedly shown the video as part of a child abuse complaint, and soon after, a silver Dodge minivan similar to the vehicle seen in the video was found outside a Food City in South Williamson.

Court documents show that the driver of the minivan told state police she had gotten into an argument with Roscoe Eric Ware, 34, of Victoria, Virginia, when she told him they were going the wrong way.

She reportedly told state police that Ware allegedly started to choke her to the point that it led to her vomiting.

When asked why she didn’t report the attack to law enforcement, the woman said she was scared and didn’t have anywhere to go, per an arrest citation.

Video footage of Ware allegedly showed him “forcefully” moving a child from the front of the minivan to the back in “an aggressive manner,” court documents show.

State police were able to execute a complaint warrant generated from the digital evidence troopers had been shown, and social services were contacted to meet with the victims.

Ware was taken to the Powell County Detention Center on Tuesday and charged with first-degree domestic violence-related strangulation and first-degree criminal abuse of a child age 12 or under. He was held on a $150,000 bond in connection with the warrant execution.

While arresting Ware, KSP said that troopers allegedly found 18 orange pills in a plastic bag. He was charged separately for second-degree possession of a controlled substance – amphetamine.

The criminal abuse and drug investigations remain ongoing.