JOHN Lewis, 32, is accused of assaulting his girlfriend while he was drunk. He was charged with disturbing the peace, and assault and battery.
On Monday, June 24, he appeared before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho for a bail hearing.
Lewis was represented by Assistant Public Defender Molly Dennert, who asked the court to release her client under his own recognizance, adding that he has no previous criminal record.
Assistant Attorney General Heather Barcinas did not oppose the request, but Judge Camacho said he was concerned about a possible escalation of the situation if he returned to their apartment. The judge asked if Lewis had another place where he could stay.
Dennert said her client has an aunt willing to take him in.
Judge Camacho then granted the request and released Lewis on a $5,000 unsecured bond and ordered him not to have any contact with his girlfriend.
Lewis waived his right to a preliminary hearing. He was ordered to return to court for an arraignment on July 8 at 9 a.m.
The complaint
According to the complaint, on Sunday, at about 3:28 a.m., police received a call from a woman who stated that her boyfriend, Lewis, had assaulted her at their residence.
The victim met the police at the Mobil Gas Station in Chalan Kiya. The responding police officer “immediately smelled a strong odor of alcoholic beverage coming from the inside of the vehicle and saw the victim [who] appeared to be scared, crying, with swollen lips.”
The victim said that earlier that evening, she was at a work party when she called Lewis to pick her up. Lewis picked her up and drove back to their residence where he started an argument with her “about a guy that she was talking to at the party.”
She said Lewis was jealous and was very angry, so they argued back and forth. Later, she said, she got tired of arguing and ignored Lewis and went to sleep on their bed. While sleeping, she said she was awakened and disturbed by Lewis who punched and slapped her multiple times.
The victim said she managed to run out of the residence and leave the area with her car. She then called for police assistance.
Police called for emergency medical services to assess the victim, who refused additional treatment.
The victim led the responding police officers to her residence and permitted them to enter after several unsuccessful attempts to get Lewis to come out.
Inside the residence, the officers found Lewis, who appeared to be sleeping on a dining chair. They then placed him in handcuffs.
Arguments
In a follow-up interview, she told police that she had been having arguments with Lewis for the past two days regarding their relationship. She said she had previously broken up with Lewis due to his drinking habits.
On the night of the incident, she said, she called Lewis at around 1 a.m. to pick her up from her work party. She said Lewis arrived and saw her standing in the parking lot with three of her co-workers, two of whom were male and one female.
She said Lewis became jealous and started asking her who she was talking to and what her intentions were.
She said when they arrived home, Lewis became more aggressive because he was heavily intoxicated. She said she tried to sleep, but Lewis kept shoving her while she was lying on the bed.
She said Lewis then pushed and slapped her on the face multiple times.
The victim told police that she feared for her life, so she ran out of the house and left in her vehicle and called for police assistance.
