Navy Lieutenant Commander Faces Attempted Murder Charges

A naval flight officer is set to be tried for allegedly attempting to strangle to death a woman in Florida in December 2017, according to charge sheets and arrest records.

Lt. Cmdr. Jason Scott Doyle faces charges of attempted murder, assault and battery, obstruction of justice, and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, according to charge sheets obtained by Military.com. Navy Times, which first published the charges, reported that his trial is set to begin in April.

The office of Doyle's civilian attorney, Jeffrey Lustick, declined all comment.

Doyle, 35, was then a resident of St. Johns, Florida, according to an arrest report from the St. Johns County sheriff's office. Doyle, the report states, was arguing with a woman identified as his ex-fiancee over the status of their relationship.

"The altercation turned physical when Jason threw [the woman] onto a couch on the back patio," the arrest report states.

He then allegedly began to choke her by placing his hand around her neck. After she broke free, according to the report, he allegedly forced his way into the locked bathroom she had entered and slapped her in the face with an open palm. When she again ran away, according to the report, he allegedly followed her and began to choke her once more on the couch.

"[The woman] stated [that], during the physical altercation, Jason repeatedly stated, 'He was going to kill her,' " according to the report.

Military.com is not identifying the woman because of her reported status as the victim in the case.

She was ultimately able to call 911. When sheriff's office officials arrived, they found Doyle in the backyard carrying a loaded, unidentified firearm in his hand, according to the report. It stated that Doyle told the deputies he had grabbed the gun with the intent to use it on himself.

Officials stated in the report that the woman had neck injuries consistent with being choked and "a noticeable knot on her forehead from an unknown cause which occurred during the physical alteration." They also stated that Doyle confessed to the allegations after being read his Miranda rights.

Doyle and the woman had been living together, with the woman's two children from a previous marriage, for six months, according to the report.

The Navy charge sheet alleges that Doyle attempted to obstruct justice by pressuring an unidentified individual to "make an untruthful statement in order to cast doubt on a police report."

Doyle, a naval flight officer, was at the time with Patrol Squadron 47, a Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington-based unit flying P-8A Poseidon aircraft.

According to information released by the Navy, he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis in 2005. He had previously served with Patrol Squadron 30, out of Jacksonville, Florida, from 2015 to 2017. Prior to that, he had been attached to the carrier Eisenhower.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.