Ads by Google Ads by Google

Man charged with assaulting pregnant girlfriend held on $50K bail

A man who allegedly threatened to harm his pregnant girlfriend as well as police officers who responded to the scene has denied in High Court the nine charges against him and remains in custody, unable to post $50,000 bail.

 

To protect the victim, who is four months pregnant and has an infant child from the defendant, Samoa News is not identifying the defendant by name. According to court filings, the defendant has been the victim’s boyfriend for three years.

 

The defendant is charged with one count each of first-degree burglary, resisting arrest, false imprisonment, private peace disturbance and public peace disturbance. While the PPDs are misdemeanors, the other charges are felonies — which carry a jail term of between five to 15 years for each felony count. The burglary charge stems from the allegation that he forcefully entered the house with a knife.

 

He is also charged with four counts of third degree assault, a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000 or both.  However, the penalty is enhanced to a class D felony—punishable for up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000 or both— if the crime of domestic or family violence occurs within five years from the first time the defendant pled guilty to, or has been found guilty of, the same crime.

 

Court documents state that during the course of the investigation, police found that the defendant had pled guilty to a crime of domestic violence in January this year — falling within five years of the current case.

 

The defendant was arraigned Wednesday in High Court, where his attorney, assistant public defender Michael White entered not guilty pleas to all charges on behalf of his client. The next court appearance is Aug. 28 for a pre trial conference hearing.

 

Court documents say the current case against the defendant occurred on July 9, when the defendant and victim got into an argument and the defendant threw a bottle of conditioner at her. It is alleged she then left to “seek refuge” at a friend’s home next door.

 

The defendant went after her, banging on the door of the neighbor’s house, where the victim asked her neighbor not to open the door because the defendant had a knife with him and was threatening to kill her, the government alleges in its case.

 

The defendant then went to the back door and pounded on that door again but when the female neighbor refused to open the door, the defendant tried to pry the window open. The defendant finally made it into the house, and the female neighbor ran out to get her husband to help.

 

Once inside the house the defendant allegedly pulled the victim’s hair and attempted to beat her but was stopped when the neighbor’s husband intervened. It was at this time the police were called for help, with the victim saying that the defendant was carrying a knife and he allegedly threatened to kill her with it.

 

When interviewed by police, the victim’s female neighbor confirmed what happened, adding that the victim tried to hide in the closet and “begged... in tears not to open the door... because the defendant wanted to kill her.”

 

The neighbor’s husband and another neighbor, who collaborated the stories by the victim and her female neighbor, also told police that while the defendant was outside and the victim was calling police, the defendant allegedly stated that he didn’t care about police and that he was “going to cut” the victim’s throat and “kill the police officers”.

 

Court documents say the police officers who arrived on the scene told the defendant “several times” to throw the knife to the ground but allegedly the defendant refused and it is alleged he pointed the knife at the officers.

 

Although the defendant finally complied by putting the knife down, he started resisting arrest again when he was told to put his hands behind his back, by pulling away from the officers several times. The officers finally managed to tackle the defendant to the ground, where he was placed in handcuffs.

 

When interviewed again, the victim told police that the defendant allegedly had a history of abusing her throughout their dating relationship. She explained that since she got pregnant with the defendant’s second child, the defendant would sometimes force himself upon her, even when she says no.

 

She recalled a June 28 incident where the defendant allegedly punched her on the head during an argument. When she cried, the defendant allegedly “dragged her into the bathroom, slammed the door and told her [that] she was not allowed to leave the bathroom until she stopped crying because she was loud.”

 

On July 5, the defendant became angry with her because he thought she called social services to come get her and her baby and take them to a shelter. At that time, the defendant allegedly held a knife to the victim’s throat and threatened to kill her.

 

Three days later, the defendant allegedly beat her, pulled her hair and punched her. When the victim tried to fight off the defendant, the defendant allegedly put his hand over her mouth and continued punching her. She allegedly told police she sustained a swollen eye and an abrasion on her lip as a result of the recent prior beatings, but the injuries to her face had healed.