A man has turned himself in for domestic assault charges, pleaded not guilty, and the woman that charged him has disagreed with many of the items on the police report, as reported by the Bennington Banner.
The man appeared in the Bennington Superior Court Criminal Division on August 8, 2011 for charges stemming from an incident earlier in July. He was held without bail as per orders from Judge Karen Carroll.
A.E.W., 35, allegedly punched the woman in the face and took her purse while the two have been arguing about money.
Vermont State Police Cpl. G.S. said that the woman reported that the event happened on July 24. G.S. noted that the woman had a broken cheek bone when he met her after she was discharged from the North Adams Mass. Regional Hospital.
On the August 8 hearing, the woman denied stating that Q.E.W. had taken her purse, and had issue with the validity of other items noted in the police report.
On July 24, per G.S., A.E.W. contacted him and said he would be turning himself in at Shaftsbury - at the state police barracks. G.S. also stated that A.E.W. admitted to hitting the woman over bills, but not that hard.
A.E.W. failed to turn himself in at the time and place arranged.
A Public Defender, Frederick Bragdon, stated that his client wanted a hearing immediately upon learning that he would be held until the next bail hearing.
As both the alleged victim, and A.E.W., had given police statements of an assault, Deputy State Attorney, Kate Lamson, said that A.E.W. must be held as the offense was considered a violent felony.
Once on the stand, the woman said she didn't write the two-page statement that she had signed, never told police that A.E.W. took her money, wasn't sworn in under oath and she'd only filed for relief from two other abuse orders.
Lamson presented court documents showing that the victim had filed a total of four relief from abuse orders over the years - from a different state and all involving the same suspect. The victim claimed that she had forgotten.
The victim further claimed that it was the police that had made errors in their reports in the past as well.
A.E.W. has a history of domestic violence in Massachusetts.
He has also violated abuse prevention orders - twice before.
Bragdon argued that the reason his client didn't turn himself into the police barracks as arranged was because he was afraid. He further argued that the woman wants him released and has said that she will contact police if there is a problem.
The Judge said that A.E.W. had a record for violating court orders in these types of cases, and his record for turning himself in hasn't been kept in the past. Due to these circumstances, the judge refused to release A.E.W.
The state argued that the victim could still be intimidated while A.E.W. is incarcerated and the judge agreed - based on the changes in statements the woman made to police over those she made in court.
The judge also granted a no-contact rule request.
Victims of domestic assault can be victimized whether their alleged attacker has been arrested or not. Contact a family law attorney to help you break the cycle of abuse, once and for all.