Man suspected of beating woman in front of witnesses is arrested

Police jailed a man Wednesday suspected of yanking his girlfriend from a car and dragging her along North Division Street by her hair during 5 o’clock rush hour traffic in January. The violent episode ended when a man came running out Physzique Fitness and pulled Zachery D. Gring, 21, away from the woman, according to court documents. Gring is being held on a $20,000 bond on charges of attempted kidnapping, assault and harassment. Witnesses told police Gring had cut the woman off in traffic and forced her stop in the 9300 block of North Division. After dragging her by the hair, Gring slammed her head against a car and punched her repeatedly in the face, according to police. Gring threatened to stab the man who pulled him away from the woman, but instead drove away. A witness recorded a portion of the January attack with his cell phone. At the time the woman told police she was too afraid to give a statement, but later decided to come in and talk because she was afraid Gring would kill her, according to court documents. She told police that Gring had previously given her a black eye and strangled her in separate incidents, but she had not reported the attacks. Gring has four convictions for assault and another assault case is pending in Spokane Municipal Court. He’s also being held on $10,000 bail on a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm in a separate case.