Cape man faces assault charges

A Cape Girardeau man was in jail Wednesday charged with biting, punching and pulling the hair of his girlfriend until she blacked out and required medical treatment.

When police responded to 137 Spanish St., Apt. 4, on Tuesday, they were answering a call about a man who had cut his wrist, patrolman David Willingham wrote in a sworn statement filed with the charges against Sean K. Poole.

Poole, 22, struggled with officers and medical personnel trying to treat his injuries and refused to be handcuffed. Poole shared the apartment with the victim.

"Poole made several statements that he was trying to kill himself because he had slapped his girlfriend," Willingham wrote.

The girlfriend was at Southeast Missouri Hospital, where she described the beating she said Poole had given her. She said Poole struck her several times in her face with his fists, bit her nose, pulled her hair, and held her to prevent her from leaving before pushing her down, where she hit her head and blacked out.

The bite wounds and swelling around her left eye were clearly visible, Willingham wrote.

When they originally arrived, officers were trying to place Poole in protective custody because he had injured himself, police spokesman Sgt. Barry Hovis said.

Neighbors reported the fight between the two, because it was clearly "serious enough that police intervention was warranted," Hovis said.

When officers went in to speak with Poole, he became combative and resistant, and it took several officers to restain him, Hovis said.

While the girlfriend said she was pushed down when she blacked out, Poole had a different explanation, Hovis said. "He says they were hugging and fell to the ground," he said.

Poole was taken by officers to Southeast Missouri Hospital, where his wrists were stitched and bandaged, Hovis said.

Poole has at least three prior felony convictions for stealing and burglary dating back to 2003. He has served short prison terms and, when put on probation in the past, has seen that probation revoked and the full sentence imposed.

Poole was being held on a $5,000 cash-only bond.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126