Southbridge Police Make 2 Domestic Violence Arrests

Southbridge Police

In a post on Facebook, Southbridge Police said, “Our department does not usually post incidents involving domestic violence but we have seen an increase in the the amount of calls for service for these types of calls over the last week.”  They did, however, decide to post 2 recent cases, “to increase awareness” and to encourage anyone involved in a relationship with domestic violence to contact police for help.

In order to protect the identities of the victims, the names and addresses were withheld from the information that was made public.

Both cases took place last Saturday, March 24th.  Just after midnight officers were sent to investigate a report of a taser used by a husband on his wife.  While on scene speaking with the victim, officers observed the man attempting to leave the area on foot through the garage.  Officers pursued the man who then ran back into the residence and locked the door so they could not enter.  Police forced entry into the home and arrested him after a brief struggle.  The woman’s daughter was also on scene and stopped her mother’s attack by spraying her husband with pepper spray.

The suspect was charged with two counts of domestic assault and battery, two counts of intimidation of a witness, threatening to commit a crime to wit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of an electric stun gun, attempting to commit murder, strangulation/suffocation and resisting arrest.

Later that morning, Southbridge Police were dispatched to another location at just after 6AM to investigate a family member was being held against their will by an ex-boyfriend.  A man had forced his way into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment in the middle of the night and the victim could not call the police for help but was able to communicate with the third party via a text message from a tablet device.

As officers arrived on scene two male subjects were observed attempting to flee the apartment on foot. Police detained both subjects for questioning and later determined one of the subjects had broken into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment earlier in the night by kicking in the door.  The victim, who was in bed, reported that her ex-boyfriend entered her bedroom and took her phone so she could not call for help.  He went to a drawer and took out a knife pointing it in her direction and stated that he wanted to “kill her.”

The victim was eventually able to use her child’s tablet to send out a message to her mother asking for help. Police were called and placed the man under arrest.

The suspect was charged with kidnapping, breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony, malicious destruction of property over $250, intimidation of a witness, armed assault in a dwelling and with threatening to commit a crime to wit murder.

The suspects in both of these cases were arraigned in Dudley District Court on Monday, March 26th and are being held without bail due to the seriousness of the charges.