A man and a woman were arrested late Wednesday after they were found fighting in the ditch along Iowa Highway 141 near the Dallas County Hospital.
Nicholas Andrew Wallace, 23, of 2506 Perry Park Ave., Perry, was charged with first-offense domestic abuse assault-bodily injury or mental illness and public intoxication.
Tamilee Kay Duff, 34, of 2506 Perry Park Ave., Perry, was arrested on a Dallas County warrant for driving under suspension and was charged with first-offense OWI and first-offense domestic abuse assault-bodily injury or mental illness.
The incident began about 11:45 p.m. Wednesday in the 1900 block of Iowa Highway 141 just west of 10th Street, where officers of the Perry Police Department responded to a report of a fight.
The officers found a 2006 Nissan Altima, registered to Duff, parked on the shoulder of Iowa Highway 141 near 10th Street with its four-way flashers activated, and they observed Duff and Wallace “lying in the north ditch in a physical fight” and saw Duff allegedly “hit Wallace in the face with a closed fist,” according to court records.
The officers separated the disputants. Duff told the officers that she and Wallace “got into a verbal argument,” and “she pulled over and told him to get out,” according to court records.
Duff alleged that Wallace then “hit her in the face with a can of beer and then grabbed the keys” and “left the vehicle,” and Duff “pursued him, and they continued to physically fight in the ditch,” according to court records.
The officers observed that Duff “sustained injuries to her face and a cut lip,” according to court records.
Wallace told the officers that he and Duff “had been drinking,” and he “made a comment” that angered Duff, who allegedly “slammed on the brakes, causing his head to hit the window, and then she began to hit him in the face with her fist,” according to court records.
The officers observed that Wallace “had a swollen face and a bloody mouth and a large bump on his right forehead,” according to court records.
Dallas County EMS examined both parties at the scene and treated them for minor injuries.
Duff was held in the Dallas County Jail prior to her release on her own recognizance. She is scheduled for arraignment Sept. 9 in Dallas County District Court.
Wallace is held in the Dallas County Jail on a $1,000 cash or surety bond. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing July 30 in Dallas County District Court.
Wallace was convicted of public intoxication in Dallas County District Court in June 2018 and in June 2020.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
