APRIL 21--An ex-con arrested for allegedly hitting and choking his girlfriend told Florida cops that he was not actually attacking the woman, but rather demonstrating “how I was previously arrested for domestic battery,” according to a court filing.

Police charge that William Shumaker, a 36-year-old convicted felon, “repeatedly choked his girlfriend of two years around her throat with both hands.” The alleged attack took place Sunday afternoon in the parking lot of a St. Petersburg convenience store.

A witness, cops say, observed Shumaker “striking and choking the victim multiple times.”

When officers approached Shumaker, he reportedly “spontaneously stated ‘I was showing her how I was previously arrested for domestic battery.’” The purported demonstration, cops noted, left the woman with “multiple red marks on her left neck consistent with hand prints.”

According to court records, Shumaker’s lengthy rap sheet includes two prior arrests for felony domestic battery. In both cases, however, he eventually copped to a reduced misdemeanor charge (criminal mischief and battery). Shumaker has also been twice convicted of burglary and has spent more than five years total in state prison. He most recently was released from state custody in early-February.

Seen above, Shumaker was charged Sunday with domestic battery by strangulation, a felony for which he is locked up in lieu of $50,000 bond. A judge has ordered him to have no contact with the victim. (1 page)