A man is accused of attacking and choking an Oak Harbor woman after she gave him a ride to a vacant home on West Beach Road Sunday, according to a report filed by the Island County Sheriff’s Office.

The man, identified as Larry T. Byars, 22, then allegedly broke into neighboring homes and was about to drive away in a stolen car when he was stopped by the Coupeville marshal, the sheriff’s report said.

Byars appeared in Island County Superior Court Monday. Judge Vickie Churchill said she found probable cause to hold him on suspicion of second-degree assault, two counts of residential burglary, attempted car theft and malicious mischief in the third degree.

Island County Deputy Prosecutor David Carman asked the judge to set Byars’ bail at $100,000, based on his danger to the community and potential flight risk.

Churchill agreed.

Carman said Byars’ mailing address is listed as being in Baton Rouge, La. He has a “significant criminal history” in several states, including a sexual assault in Texas, according to the prosecutor.

Detective Ed Wallace with the Island County Sheriff’s Office said the 27-year-old woman didn’t know Byars very well before giving him a ride Sunday morning from her workplace in Everett to Whidbey Island.

“He was a friend of a friend,” he said. “She didn’t know his name, but knew his face.”

The woman was driving along West Beach Road when Byars told her to pull into the driveway of a home. He allegedly claimed he lived there.

Deputies subsequently determined that the house is vacant and for sale.

The woman claims Byars suddenly grabbed her and tried to place her into a headlock.

“There was no warning before the attack,” Deputy Robert Davison wrote in his report.

The woman told investigators she tried to escape from the car, but Byars went around to the other side and dragged her out, putting her into a rear choke hold.

The woman later said she could not breathe and felt herself passing out, the report states.

The woman screamed, fought and honked her horn. At one point, Byars allegedly threatened to “break her neck,” the report staid.

The commotion alerted a neighbor, who called 911.

Byars eventually calmed down and the woman got back into the car; Byars tried to climb in, but she was able to drive away from the scene without him.

The alleged victim also called 911.

Responding deputies said they observed that the woman was “hysterical” and sustained visible injuries.

Byars ran away from the scene on foot. He later told a reserve deputy that his plan was to steal a car, lead deputies on a chase and “kill everybody,” Davison wrote in his report.

The report indicates that Byars broke into one house by throwing a large rock through a window. He cut himself on the glass.

Investigators said Byars went to another house, where a homeowner saw him trying to open doors on the deck and then went inside the garage.

Coupeville Marshal Rick Norrie arrived just as the garage door was opening.

Norrie said Byars was standing inside the garage next to a car’s open driver’s-side door; the key was in the ignition and the car was running, the report states.