Mt. Airy man jailed after threatening to kill girlfriend and her kids
FREDERICK, MD — He told police he was scared to go back to prison — but his actions sealed his fate. A 42-year-old Mt. Airy man with a violent domestic history was sentenced Tuesday to 44 years in state prison after a Frederick County jury found him guilty of first-degree assault for a brutal attack on a woman he had been dating for only a few weeks.
Gary Michael Gouge was handed the decades-long sentence by Judge Terrence McGann following a chilling January assault that left the victim screaming inside his Buffalo Road home, where she was found shaking and crying by a sheriff’s deputy. Gouge, who was already on probation for a previous domestic attack, strangled the woman, slammed her into a wall, and pulled a knife while threatening to kill her and her children, according to court records.
The incident unfolded on January 16, after a 911 caller alerted dispatchers that her sister was in danger. The deputy who arrived could hear the victim screaming inside. Once inside, he found the woman visibly terrified, recounting how Gouge had lured her to his house under the pretense of working out relationship issues, only to erupt in rage.
The court also heard that Gouge admitted being afraid of police because he had just been released from prison in May 2023, after serving time for a 2017 assault in which he strangled another girlfriend and held a gun to her head. He was released early over state objections.
During the sentencing hearing, the most recent victim delivered a powerful impact statement, recalling the moment she thought her life was ending. “The day I almost lost my life is the only date I now remember,” she told the court.
Prosecutors pointed to Gouge’s pattern of domestic violence spanning more than a decade, including a 2013 assault on his then-wife. They argued that his actions — and his disregard for probation terms — justified the nearly half-century sentence. The State had asked for 54 years.
Frederick County State’s Attorney Charlie Smith said that strangulation cases are especially serious, calling them a direct warning sign of potential future homicide. “Abusers who violate their probation by abusing a partner again are the worst of the worst,” Smith said in a press release Wednesday.
Brett Engler, Chief of the Domestic Violence Unit, led the prosecution on behalf of the State of Maryland.
Key Points
- Gary Michael Gouge sentenced to 44 years in prison for a January assault on his girlfriend while on probation
- Victim told police Gouge strangled her, threatened her children, and pulled a knife during a violent outburst
- Gouge had a prior record of domestic violence, including incidents in 2013 and 2017