A Van Meter man was arrested late Sunday night after allegedly beating up a woman and holding her captive in an apartment.
Nicholas Keith Clayton, 32, of 36479 Osage Ave., Van Meter, was charged with first-offense domestic abuse assault-bodily injury or mental illness, first-degree harassment and false imprisonment.
The incident began shortly before midnight Sunday in the 36400 block of Osage Avenue, where Dallas County Deputy Sheriffs responded to a report of a domestic disturbance.
The arriving deputies made contact with the victim, who said that she “had been hiding in a truck and was frantically stating she had been assaulted by” Clayton.
The victim told the deputies that Clayton allegedly “had not allowed her leave the apartment” during the course of a domestic dispute and that she “made it outside of the apartment in an attempt to leave before Clayton dragged her back inside by her hair,” according to court records.
The victim said that Clayton later allegedly “knocked a large shelving unit/dresser down partially in front of the door to hinder” the victim “from leaving,” according to court records.
The victim said that Clayton allegedly “punched the light bulb out of a ceiling fan and pushed her to the ground,” and he began “insinuating he would kill her if she tried to leave” while “holding a shard of glass from the broken light bulb towards her,” according to court records.
The deputies observed on the victim “a visibly bleeding injury to her right elbow,” according to court records. The victim also told the deputies that “her right thumb was causing her a large deal of pain, and she could not move it.”
Clayton is held in the Dallas County Jail on a $2,000 cash or surety bond. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing March 17 in Dallas County District Court.
Clayton was convicted of assault with intent to inflict serious injury in 2019 in Dallas County District Court. He was convicted of first-degree harassment in 2019 in Dallas County District Court. He was convicted of assault with weapon-peace officers/others in 2012 in Dallas County District Court.
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