#Bridgeport, CT – Jan. 27, 2014 – A 29-year-old city man faces charges related to a domestic dispute Friday night with his estranged wife.

Officer Mark Blackwell responded to the 100 block of Cleveland Avenue and spoke with a woman, who stated she was concerned about the safety of her friend.

She stated that her friend had called her about two hours earlier and stated that she and her children were leaving with her estranged husband. A short time later, the victim called her grandmother pleading for help before the line disconnected.

Police went to the estranged husband’s address and for 20 minutes tried, unsuccessfully, to get someone to answer the door.

Others officers arrived and set up a perimeter around the house.

The victim called her friend’s cell and spoke with Officer Matthew Goncalves. She stated that she was in Stamford but sounded as if she was under duress.

Police made contact with the victim again and Blackwell asked her if she was okay. She answered “no.” He then asked her if she was inside the Cleveland Avenue house with her estranged husband and if she was injured. She answered “yes” to both questions.

Based on the circumstances and indications of a possible hostage situation involving children, police made a forced entry.

The victim and her three children were found inside a locked third-floor bedroom. Police also found the suspect, John Anderson.  He was charged with violation of a protective order, second-degree strangulation, unlawful restraint, third-degree assault, interfering with police and three counts of risk of injury to a minor.

The victim stated that her estranged husband had punched and kicked her over a period of time before police arrived.