Charleston man charged with felony domestic assault in Cape

Cape Girardeau County prosecutors on Monday filed charges against a Charleston, Mo., man that allege he left the mother of his child with a busted lip, a swollen eye and scratches across her arm and chest after an altercation during the weekend.

DeParis D. Townsend, 21, was arrested Saturday on felony charges of domestic assault and remained incarcerated at the Cape Girardeau County Jail on Monday night in lieu of a $20,000 bond.

Patrolman Jaclyn Kelly of the Cape Girardeau Police Department was dispatched to the home of the woman's grandmother to investigate a call reporting an altercation, the officer wrote in a probable-cause statement filed with the court.

Kelly said in the statement she found Townsend and the victim at the home and noticed the woman had suffered injuries to her face and upper torso. The victim told Kelly that Townsend attacked her shortly after arriving at the home Saturday. Townsend was angered because his car wouldn't start after the woman had used it. Townsend believed that the woman had broken a fan belt on the car, she told the officer.

The exchange escalated, according to the statement, and Townsend allegedly began to hit the woman in the face. The victim took the children into a bedroom and locked the door, Kelly said, until police arrived.

When the officer asked the woman where the children were during the incident, she said they were standing right next to her. One of the children then spoke up, telling Kelly that "Daddy hit Mommy."

Townsend's bond carries a condition that he is to have no contact with the woman. A review of online court records showed no lawyer for Townsend. The Charleston man has a criminal record, including a prior assault.

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

100 Court St., Jackson, Mo.