CASTLE ROCK - Denver's former chief Secret Service agent sighed audibly Wednesday as a judge read "not guilty" on charges he choked his wife.

It took a Douglas County District Court jury of nine women and three men an hour and 10 minutes to reach a verdict in the two-day trial that saw emotional testimony from Lon Robert Garner's estranged wife, Christine Marie Garner, 51, and their 21-year-old son.

Lon Garner, 57, a former Navy SEAL and Denver police officer, was facing two second-degree assault charges after his wife alleged he choked her Jan. 4, 2006, at their Elizabeth home. Each count was punishable by minimum five-year sentences.

The couple agreed they fought about his infidelity after Christine Garner discovered he'd purchased flowers for his lover, but Lon Garner denied he put his hands around his wife's neck.

Christine Garner, however, testified her husband choked her, making her unable to breathe and causing her ears to ring.

The DA's office relied heavily on the testimony of Christine Garner and the couple's son, Lon Robert Garner Jr., but had no physical evidence of the alleged attack.

Colin McCallin, a deputy district attorney, pointed to Lon Garner's law enforcement background, saying during closing arguments his combat training made his hands deadly weapons.

The couple's scuffle was broken up by Lon Garner Jr., a Navy petty officer who testified he punched his father in the head as hard as he could when he saw him with a hand on his mother's neck. Christine Garner said she then punched her husband in the crotch while her son had him in a headlock.Lon Garner's attorney, Craig Truman, painted Christine Garner as the aggressor and said his client was trying to calm her down after she began yelling expletives and tried to strike him.

Douglas County Sheriff's Sgt. Russell W. Slade said Lon Garner denied attacking his wife. Garner said his wife told him, "You ruined my life, and I'm going to ruin yours" before she went to authorities in November, Slade testified.

morenoi@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2895