A 39-year-old North Platte man was arrested on Christmas Eve after police say he held a knife to his girlfriend’s throat and threatened to harm her dogs.

At around 2:30 p.m., officers responded to a residence in the 2100 block of West 5th Street on the report of a domestic assault that had occurred earlier.

Officers met with a 45-year-old female who alleged that she and her boyfriend, Joey Ziegler, had become involved in a verbal argument.

During the argument, the female reported that Ziegler threatened to harm her dogs.  She said that when she asked Ziegler if he really intended to harm the dogs, he produced a pocket knife, opened the blade and held it against her throat.

According to Investigator John Deal, Ziegler then told the victim that he would “cut her throat” before he would harm the dogs.  He then left the residence.

Deal says officers located the knife that was allegedly used in the incident, near where Ziegler had reportedly been sitting.

The officers then left to attempt to locate Ziegler when, a short time later, a call came in that he had returned to the residence.

Officers responded and took Ziegler into custody.  He was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center and jailed on charges of felony 3rd-degree-domestic assault, use of a weapon to commit a felony and felony terroristic threats.  Deal says the domestic assault charge is a felony due to prior convictions.