Cape woman charged with Jan. assault

A Cape Girardeau woman faces a third-degree assault charge after allegedly beating another woman with fists and a plastic broom handle and burning her with a cigar.

The assault occurred Jan. 3, shortly after midnight, when Toya L. Gresham, 42, of 419 Sprigg St., No. 1, contacted the victim by telephone to say she had located a wallet the other woman had lost, according to a probable-cause statement written from the Cape Girardeau Police Department.

When the woman went to retrieve her wallet, Gresham led her behind one of the apartment buildings, saying they needed to talk, the statement said.

When they began talking, Gresham "jumped" the other woman, striking her in the face, head and torso with fists, the sworn statement said.

A juvenile that was present also began hitting her, according to the statement.

Finally, a man named Steven Williams intervened and told the victim to kneel down, placing the barrel of a semi-automatic handgun to her head. He told her he had been the one "turning her power on and off," the statement said.

The juvenile and Gresham began striking the victim again and Gresham struck her in the back with a broom handle before using a lit cigar to burn her on the hand, the statement said.

Williams then allegedly aimed the gun at her again and told her the power would be back on soon and to go home.

The victim told police she was afraid he was going to shoot her in the back, the statement said.

The victim suffered bruising to the face, back and arms, and a circular burn to the back of her hand. Doctors at Saint Francis Medical Center told her at the time they would not be able to tell if her nose had been broken until the swelling went down, according to the probable-cause statement.

Gresham was issued a summons to appear in court March 9 for arraignment.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

388-3640