An Earlham man allegedly assaulted his girlfriend and beat up their vehicle in the course of an argument.
Seth Thompson, 32, of 16205 320th Way, Earlham, was charged with first-offense domestic abuse assault-bodily injury or mental illness and criminal mischief.
The incident began about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 16200 block of 320th Way in Earlham, where Dallas County Deputy Sheriffs responded to a report of a domestic disturbance.
The victim told the deputies that “she was pulled from the vehicle through the driver’s window, after Thompson slashed the tires and repeatedly hit the car with a sledgehammer,” according to court records.
The deputies observed on the victim “numerous cuts on her forehead” and “hair ripped from her head and a few marks on her neck,” according to court records.
Thompson told the deputies that the victim “hit him with a piece of wood and then hit herself, saying he was going to jail, and while they were wrestling on the ground, she bit his finger,” according to court records.
The deputies observed on Thompson “blood on the bridge of his nose and mouth as well as his fingers on his right hand,” according to court records.
The victim told the deputies that she “held a piece of wood” in order to protect herself “but never used it in any way” and that “biting his finger” occurred as she was “defending herself,” according to court records.
The argument began in a 1999 Buick Park Avenue, of which the driver’s window was found “shattered out,” and deputies observed “a large hole shattered in the windshield” as well as “several indentions consistent with strikes from a sledgehammer on the driver door and hood,” according to court records.
Thompson was found to have “a knife attached to his belt.” Both front tires of the vehicle “were flat and had been slashed,” and “these markings were consistent with the size of the knife found on Thompson,” according to court records.
A sledgehammer “with blood on the handle” and a piece of wood with “two drips of blood” were found nearby along with “a clump of long, brown hair,” according to court records.
Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $3,500.
Thompson is held in the Dallas County Jail on a $2,000 cash or surety bond. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Jan. 3 in Dallas County District Court.
Thompson was arrested on a charge of assault while displaying a dangerous weapon in October 2020. The case is pending in Dallas County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
