Ryan Charles Ball, 34, of Austin has pleaded not guilty to a pair of felony domestic abuse charges Thursday at the Jail and Justice Center in front of Judge Kevin Siefken.

Ball was charged in early December with felony domestic assault and felony attempted domestic assault by strangulation.

According to court documents, Austin police met with a woman in the Law Enforcement Center regarding an assault, claiming Ball was the suspect.

She claimed to have argued with Ball because she called one of his friends a “meth head,” the complaint said. The victim went to Ball’s house in the 200 block of Fourth Street Southwest and was told to leave by the suspect.

The victim said she would leave when they were done talking and he paid her the $20 he owed her.  She then alleged that Ball grabbed her by the hair and dragged her toward the stairs, while telling him to stop and that she would leave, however Ball pushed her against the wall, holding her there.

The victim stated that Ball held her there for 20-30 seconds, letting her go only when, “he was startled by his dog or the sound of her cell phone falling on the floor.”

She said she got halfway down the stairs, then told him she needed her phone. She said he gave it back to her, then pushed her head into the wall again. When she told him she intended to call the police, he told her, “You’re not (expletive) calling the cops (expletive),” took her phone and pushed her head down and held it there.

The victim said she pleaded with Ball to let her go and that he made her swear she would not call the police. She got her phone and began to leave when Ball told her that if she reported him to the police, he would have her charged with “breaking and entering.”

The victim complained of neck pain and a headache and indicated it was painful to swallow. The officer observed a large bump on the back of the victim’s head, which she said was painful to the touch.

Ball was later arrested and told police at the Mower County Jail that the victim charged into his room uninvited, claiming they argued and that she refused to leave his house, at which point he threatened to call the police. He also claimed the victim told him to call the police and indicated she would tell them he hit her before she left the residence.

He denied having a physical altercation and said he wanted her charged with burglary.

A review of Ball’s criminal history shows prior convictions for domestic assault, domestic assault by strangulation, kidnapping, terroristic threats, check forgery, drug possession, identity theft and failure to register as a predatory offender.

Ball will next be in court for pre-trail on May 15.

Michael Stoll contributed to this story.