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HIGH POINT — A shelter official questions why a man accused of beating a woman unconscious had been released three days earlier after allegedly choking her.

Phillip J. Holland, 36, was arrested April 15 in the assault and then released on a written promise to appear. Three days later, police say, he forced his way into Leslie's House and assaulted Holi Olga Grant, a woman he had been dating, according to officials.

The Rev. Jim Summey is incensed that a magistrate released Holland with only a signature bond. Why didn't the magistrate check his record, asks Summey, president of West End Ministries, which operates the shelter.

Grant, 30, was expected to be released Thursday from High Point Regional Hospital, a spokeswoman said. Grant declined through the hospital spokeswoman and a friend to speak about the assault.

Holland now faces a charge of assault with intent to inflict serious injury and remains in the High Point jail on a $500,000 bond.

It was unclear what Grant was doing at the shelter, where she sometimes volunteers, Summey said.

Holland has served prison terms for assault on a female, communicating threats and assault with a deadly weapon, records with the state Department of Correction show.

Allegations of violent crimes should all be treated seriously and with stiff penalties, Summey said.

"They must be sent a signal that we will not tolerate violence," he said.

Magistrates are not required to check criminal backgrounds, although it is considered a best practice to do so, said Joseph E. Turner, Guilford County chief district court judge.

Typically, magistrates rely on the information provided by the police officer or complainant, and the defendant when applicable, he said.

Guilford has suggested ranges for bond amounts, but magistrates and judges are not required to follow them.

"It's not a cut and dried 'Here's step 1-2-3.' It's a process with give and take," Turner said. "It's not a criminal trial. It's simply an accusation and evaluation of evidence."

"I know the magistrate," Turner said. "I know that he does feel bad that she got hurt after he released the man. ... But based on the information that was available to him at the time, I believe he made the appropriate judgment call in this case."

The original assault was not classified as domestic violence because the two did not live together and had not been dating long, Turner said. The relationship did not meet the state definition required to enact domestic violence protections, such as an immediate 48-hour hold on a defendant.

Even so, advocates for domestic violence victims say such incidents are discouraging.

When there are "no real consequences" people will keep on assaulting victims, said Doreen Nicholas, training coordinator with the N.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

And that violence, she said, tends to escalate.

Contact Jennifer Fernandez at 373-7064 or jennifer.fernandez@news-record.com