Jackson man accused of assaulting woman, then locking her in kitchen cabinet when police arrived

With a woman locked in a kitchen cabinet and her mouth taped shut, Robert E. Simmons of Jackson tried to convince Cape Girardeau police there was no disturbance at an apartment Monday.

It almost worked.

Police arrested Simmons after being dispatched to the apartment a second time and finding the woman. It was 9:30 p.m., two hours after the first visit.

They were sent to the location a second time after a caller reported her daughter had sent her a text message, which said to send police to her apartment complex. Police searched the home their first time at the apartment, only finding Simmons.

The victim later told police Simmons assaulted her, striking her in the face and the back of the head and pushed her against a wall. The victim also alleged that while Simmons held her against the kitchen wall he stuck kitchen knives into the wall -- one on each side of her head. Simmons allegedly threatened the woman, saying, "Today will be the day we die."

Simmons, 31, was charged Tuesday with second-degree domestic assault, felonious restraint and unlawful use of a weapon.

In an interview with officers after Simmons' arrest, the victim said she didn't try to get police officers' attention because Simmons had told her he would hurt her family if she made any sound, according to the probable-cause affidavit filed with the court by patrolman Shaun Smelser.

The victim also said she heard Simmons speaking on his cellphone to a friend. He asked the person to bring a gun to her home and that he only "needed one bullet to take care of business," said the victim.

The woman was transported to a hospital for treatment. Police located the knives allegedly used in the assault and took them from the home as evidence, the affidavit says.

In a statement to police, Simmons said that when he arrived at the victim's home she was angry with him and attacked him with a knife. He told police he pushed her against the wall so she wouldn't stab him. He also said he helped the woman hide in the kitchen cabinet because she had a warrant out for her arrest. Smelser doesn't say in the affidavit whether the woman had a warrant out for her arrest.

Simmons will appear in front of a judge today for his arraignment. According to Missouri Case.net, Simmons does not yet have a lawyer.

As a prior offender in Cape Girardeau County, Simmons spent 30 days in jail last year for driving while intoxicated. In 2000, Simmons was sentenced in Cape Girardeau County to serve three years for manufacturing an imitation controlled substance.

ehevern@semissourian.com

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