Man accused of dragging pregnant woman on pavement

Police said a Mound City, Illinois, man ran away after they saw him dragging a pregnant woman by the ankle across the asphalt.

The incident happened on Morgan Oak Street in Cape Girardeau, and the man ran when he saw the flash of police lights, according to a probable-cause statement filed in the case by police.

Cape Girardeau police arrested Monte Devale Gardner, 35, on Sunday.

The Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Gardner with kidnapping, felonious restraint, misdemeanor domestic assault and misdemeanor resisting arrest.

Gardner’s bond was set at $50,000 cash or surety.

Cape Girardeau police responded to a report about an ongoing domestic assault about 5 p.m. Sunday in the 300 block of Middle Street, according to a probable-cause statement filed in the case by police officer Shane Bourbon.

They found an SUV with the front driver-side door open before they were approached by the victim, who was seven months’ pregnant with Gardner’s child, and her juvenile daughter, Bourbon wrote.

The victim said Gardner ran west on Morgan Oak Street, according to the statement.

The victim said she recently had separated from Gardner but they were speaking earlier Sunday, Bourbon wrote.

Gardner took the keys to her SUV and forced the victim and her daughter into the vehicle, according to the statement.

Gardner told the victim he was taking her to his sister’s house, where he would assault her, Bourbon wrote.

Gardner pulled up at a house near Morgan Oak and Middle streets. The victim tried to run with her daughter on Morgan Oak Street, according to the statement.

Gardner pushed the victim to the ground and dragged her by her ankle while the victim screamed at her daughter to run and get help, Bourbon wrote.

Gardner ran when he saw the lights of a police vehicle, Bourbon wrote.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

300 block of Middle Street, Cape Girardeau, Mo.