Valpo man accused of battering pregnant girlfriend
By Erin Guerra Post-Tribune correspondent July 17, 2012 1:48PM
Christopher Niloff. | Provided photo~Sun-Times Media
Maps
Updated: August 19, 2012 6:22AM
PORTAGE — A 30-year-old Portage man allegedly battered his pregnant girlfriend Monday night, plus two of his relatives who intervened.
Christopher Niloff also reportedly used a yellow extension cord to tie all three to lawn chairs outside his family home, in the 3400 block of Swanson, but they got free. As he chased the 20-year-old Lafayette woman, who told police she ran into a wooded area, one of the men fled to a nearby fire station for help at about 7:10 p.m.
Niloff reportedly fled from police in a vehicle and on foot, but he ultimately was arrested on 12 felony and seven misdemeanor charges. The charges include three counts of criminal confinement, two counts of strangulation, four counts of intimidation, and drunken driving with a prior conviction.
Police said the events started with Niloff and the woman arguing because she did not want to drive him to Valparaiso. They were in her vehicle, and Niloff started breaking items in the dashboard, according to the police report.
Two male relatives, ages 61 and 65, were in the yard and saw this, and they approached and tried to get Niloff to calm down. Instead, according to the arrest report, Niloff started punching them, grabbed the woman by the neck and pushed her into a lawn chair by the garage, and he ordered the men to sit next to her and threatened to kill all three of them if they moved.
Police said Niloff tied them up, including wrapping the cord around one of the men’s necks, but they were able to escape and ran in different directions. Niloff allegedly tackled one man and repeatedly punched him in the head, then went after the woman.
Niloff, who has a history with police, fled in a relative’s white Ford Ranger, which an officer spotted at U.S. 6 and Swanson Road. Niloff evaded police by driving through several business parking lots before taking off on westbound U.S. 6, forcing other drivers to brake and swerve as he weaved through traffic. When police blocked in the pickup in Gelsosomo’s parking lot, Niloff ran to Camelot Estates, where he was ordered to the ground at gunpoint, according to the police report.
