Arrest made in car strangling case

A 43-year-old Tampa man wanted for assaulting his estranged wife on Wednesday was arrested Sunday following a short chase through a Hillsborough County neighborhood.

Alexis Testa-Yero is facing one count of aggravated battery. He was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail where he is being held without bond pending his first appearance before a judge.

According to a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office report deputies received information that Yero was hiding out at a relative's house. When they went to the home the suspect fled on foot.

A HCSO K-9 unit eventually located him hiding in a nearby shed. Authorities had been searching for Yero since Wednesday.

Just before 6 a.m. Tania Lujan Martinez got into her car to go to work when she noticed someone in the back seat. She soon realized it was her estranged husband Yero.

As she began driving down the road the suspect placed a rope around her neck and began choking her. As Martinez struggled to free herself she lost control of her Nissan Altima, striking a fence in the 4500 block of Paris St.

After hitting the fence the vehicle went airborne and did a complete flip. It came to rest on the wheels causing Martinez to lose consciousness.

When the victim came too Yero again tried to choke her with the rope. Martinez, 36, struggled with her attacker until he suddenly stopped and ran from the car.

Martinez was treated at the scene by paramedics with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and an arrest warrant was issued for Yero.