The Chelsea Standard
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Police arrest 3 in rash of domestic assaults
By Edward Freundl, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: July 3, 2008
Chelsea police responded to three incidents of domestic violence in less than 48 hours between June 19 and 21, resulting in the arrest of three repeat offenders.
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10:20 p.m. June 19
In the first incident, officers were dispatched to an apartment in the 200 block of Wilkinson Street at 10:20 p.m. June 19 for a report of yelling coming from the neighboring apartment.
The officer was given permission to enter the apartment, and noticed the odor of intoxicants coming from the man and a woman.
According to the police report, the 42-year-old woman admitted they had been drinking beer and wine, but the 32-year-old man denied drinking and said he had been sleeping.
He refused a preliminary breath test, but the officer noted in his report that the man's eyes were glassy and bloodshot.
Officers also noticed that the apartment was in disarray, with several items broken on the floor, and the victim had dried blood and lacerations on her mouth.
A records check indicated the man was on parole and had been involved in domestic violence incidents in Adrian last December, in Chelsea last August and in Ann Arbor in March 2006, the report stated.
The victim said the couple has a history of altercations, but that "he is a good guy and shouldn't go to jail," according to the report.
The suspect told police he was gathering his possessions to leave and she started breaking things, the report stated.
At that point, the officer arrested him for domestic assault.
The suspect was also wanted on outstanding warrants from Ypsilanti and Centerline.
The suspect was jailed on the warrants and a new charge of felony domestic violence-third offense, and his parole officer was notified.
7:20 p.m. June 20
In the second incident, officers were dispatched to the 100 block of Jackson Street for a 911 hang-up call at 7:20 p.m. June 20.
According to a police report, an officer knocked on the door of the house for a couple of minutes before a woman called out, "I'm OK."
Finally a man came to the door and escorted the officer to an upstairs bedroom to speak to his wife.
At first the 39-year-old victim was reluctant to speak to the officer until the man yelled at her to "Tell him what happened," and the officer told the man to go downstairs with a second officer.
The victim indicated red marks where the suspect had grabbed her by the throat and arm.
The officer went downstairs and arrested the suspect.
The victim told police she had gotten home between 5 and 5:30 p.m. and the suspect was already drunk, they argued, and he grabbed her by the neck.
She got away and went upstairs, and started looking at domestic violence sites on a computer.
She told him she was going to call the police, and he threatened to "hunt you down," according to the report.
Later, she could hear the man speaking to someone outside, and she went to the window and yelled, "Don't be nice to him, he beats his wife!"
He became angry and grabbed her by the arm. When she told him to leave he smashed the computer, the report stated.
The suspect refused to talk to the officer, initially refused a preliminary breath test but submitted to one later, with a result of .11 percent blood alcohol content, and he was transported to jail.
A warrant was authorized for domestic assault, and Roger D. Humphries, 39, was released on $5,000 personal recognizance bond on the condition that he have no contact with the victim.
3:15 p.m. June 21
The third and least violent incident occurred at 3:15 p.m. June 21 when officers were dispatched to an apartment in the 200 block of Wilkinson Street.
On arrival officer saw a couple sitting on the front porch, told them a call had come from one of the 41-year-old woman's daughters, and asked to speak to the girls.
The daughter who made the call told the officer the man had come over and she could hear the couple outside arguing over custody of the younger daughter, according to a police report.
The mother admitted they had been arguing and that the man was violating his probation since he is not to have any contact with her and he had been drinking.
The 43-year-old man confirmed what the woman said, the report stated.
The officer told him he was in violation of four conditions of his probation, he would be taken to the Chelsea police station and his probation officer would be contacted.
9 p.m. June 21
In the final and most serious incident, officers were dispatched to the 600 block of Middle Court at about 9 p.m. June 21 to respond to a 911 hang-up call.
According to a police report, the caller advised that her female neighbor had come over saying that her boyfriend had beaten her.
Officers made contact with the victim, a 47-year-old woman, who told police the couple had gotten into an argument about seven hours earlier about being out of cigarettes and not having money to go out and get more.
The suspect began yelling and calling the victim names, then grabbed her by the hair and punched her several times in the head and leg as she was laying on the couch, the report stated.
The suspect then told her to lie on the couch, got a plastic garbage bag and placed it over her head.
She had to kick him to get him off her, then he laid down and went to sleep.
At about 6:30 p.m. she threw an empty cigarette pack at him, waking him up.
The suspect grabbed an aluminum baseball bat next to the couch and came at her, saying "I'll smash your (expletive) face in," and swung at her head, according to the report.
The victim was able to deflect the end of the bat and kick him. He threw down the bat and left the apartment, and the victim went to the neighbor to seek help.
The victim told police she didn't know where he went when he left, but said his mother lived in a duplex on Middle Street. An officer drove the victim around the area, but she could not identify the house.
Police located the suspect at 10:30 a.m. June 22 at the mother's house in the 500 block of West Middle Street.
According to the report, he was arrested without incident and jailed on outstanding warrants from Jackson and Chelsea police and the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department.
Prosecutors authorized new warrants on William Darek Bell, 43, for one count of felonious domestic assault and two counts of domestic violence-second and third offenses, and held on a $30,000 cash-only bond.
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