Harlem man charged after deputies say wife was critically injured

Willie Thomas, 31, was booked July 30 in Columbia County on an aggravated assault charge and four counts of third-degree cruelty to children after deputies said his wife was critically injured at their Harlem home. Authorities said Letavia Latimore, 31, was taken to Doctors Hospital around 1:30 a.m. after GoldCross paramedics found visible marks on her neck and face.

A warrant says Thomas put his hands around Latimore's neck, then slammed her head into the floor until she lost consciousness. The child-cruelty charges were filed because the violence happened in front of four juvenile children, according to authorities.