Feb. 22—A 24-year-old man choked a woman and threw her to the ground over the weekend in the parking lot of a Dickson City grocery store, borough police said.

William Frank Raniello, who officers said was homeless, is charged with strangulation, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and harassment.

The police responded to the 1500 block of Main Street shortly after 8 p.m. because a woman identified later as Kayla Smith was reportedly unresponsive on the side of the building, according to a criminal complaint.

As she came to, she yelled for "Will," who she said was her boyfriend.

One of her co-workers, who the police identified by his initials because he is a juvenile, told them he saw a fight between Smith and Raniello, who he described as his friends, in the parking lot.

Raniello choked her several times and threw her to the ground. Smith ran after him toward the area where the police soon found her.

Smith received treatment at Geisinger Community Medical Center, police said. Her neck was bruised and her chin was scratched.

The police found and arrested Raniello hours later in a tent set up in the trees behind the supermarket.

Raniello is in the Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $150,000 bail. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled Tuesday.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.