By Brandi Makuski

The trial of a Stevens Point man charged with domestic abuse and intimidation of a witness has been scheduled to begin Thursday.

Daniel Porcaro, 26, has been charged with disorderly conduct as a domestic abuse repeat offender, and felonious witness intimidation/threat of force.

According to the criminal complaint, Porcaro was arrested after a hotel manager reported hearing sounds of a struggle at a Division St. hotel on Dec. 30, 2015. Porcaro was living in the hotel at the time with his then-girlfriend and their infant child.

The manager told police, who were called at 1:41 PM, that Porcaro’s room abutted the hotel office. The couple had been arguing on and off since they’d checked in, according to the complaint, but on that afternoon the manager heard a “large bang” on the wall of his office, which sounded like “someone being thrown against [the wall]”, at which time he called police.

The manager said he then watched Porcaro exit the hotel room and get into his vehicle. The woman Porcaro was living with came outside, at which point the hotel manager said “it appeared that [Porcaro] tried to run her down” before driving away. One police officer then attempted to locate Porcaro at a relative’s house on West Gates Drive.

When other officers arrived at the hotel, a woman inside Porcaro’s room initially could be heard crying through the door and told police to “go away” but opened the door when police said they wanted to ensure she was alright.

The woman told police Porcaro had pushed her into a wall during an argument, and was afraid he would return to the room and hurt her. He also threatened to kill the woman, according to the complaint, and he held a gun to her head the week before, according to the complaint.

She also said Porcaro was “extremely possessive” of her, and typically consumes alcohol daily. She told police the relationship had a history of abuse, and she feared for her life if he returned to the room.

As one officer was interviewing the woman, Porcaro walked up to officers in the parking lot, where he was taken into custody without incident.

Porcaro previously pleaded guilty in Wood Co. to another domestic abuse charge in 2014.

His 12-person jury trial is scheduled to begin at 8:30 AM on Thurs., July 14 in Branch I of Portage Co. Circuit Court.