CHOCOWINITY — One of Chocowinity’s new town commissioners was arrested after an altercation on New Year’s Eve.

Curt Jenkins was arrested in the early hours of Jan. 1 and charged with felony assault by strangulation and misdemeanor assault on a female.

According to Pitt County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Director Christy Wallace, deputies responded to a Pitt County residence on New Year’s Eve after a woman called in a report of an assault.

“When we arrived at that location, we found that the girlfriend of John Curtis Jenkins said that he had choked her,” Wallace said.

Wallace said there were no witnesses to the incident.

The warrant came from the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office, but Jenkins was arrested in Chocowinity by Chocowinity Police officers and processed at the Beaufort County Detention Center, according to Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Charlie Rose.

Jenkins was immediately bonded out, which came as a surprise to some law enforcement personnel.

“It was domestic (incident) according to the report — this was a three-year relationship of girlfriend-boyfriend,” Wallace said.

According to state law, a person charged with domestic assault will be detained for 24 hours, or until that person has his or her first appearance before a judge.

In November, Jenkins was elected to Chocowinity’s Board of Commissioners. He was sworn into office in December.

Jenkins had his first appearance in Pitt County court on Tuesday. Attempts to reach Jenkins for comment were unsuccessful.