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by pltm
(PLTM) - Fahie Hill resident and St Thomas native, Salehe Todman, reportedly confronted and choked his ex-lover over a ring that he gave her that she did not return to him when requested to do so.
Todman pleaded guilty to Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm and Criminal Damage when he appeared before Magistrate Christilyn Benjamin on Thursday, April 29. The incident occurred on September 25, 2018 at Fahie Hill.
According to Crown Counsel Jamal Bridgewater, the defendant and the virtual complainant (VC) share a young daughter and have been in an on-and-off relationship until the VC ended it because of the alleged abuse.
On the day in question, the defendant arrived at the VC’s workplace with their daughter, and then the defendant drove the VC and the young child home.
When they arrived at the Fahie Hill location, the defendant asked the VC for the ring he had given to her in February of that year, but she did not want to give it to him.
Sometime later, while inside the VC’s house, the defendant took her bag from her bedroom and went outside, where a tug of war ensued between them over the said bag.
It started raining, and the VC attempted to go inside with the bag, but the defendant released his hold on the bag and instead grabbed her hair tightly.
The VC was then thrown to the ground by the defendant, and he choked her while sitting on her chest in the presence of her other children.
The VC reportedly tried to escape from the hold without success, and she asked him: “are you going to kill me in front of my children?”
The VC then shouted to one of her children present to call her sister’s boyfriend to come to her aid, and he did and was able to pull the defendant off the VC.
The sister’s boyfriend then instructed the VC to return the ring to the defendant to avoid any further confusion, and she complied by hurling the ring at the defendant.
The defendant again tugged on the VC’s hair, and another scuffle ensued between the two, and the sister’s boyfriend was able to again intervene by getting the defendant out of the house while the VC locked the door.
The court heard that the defendant then smashed the door’s glass louvres with his fist and then made an attempt to put his hand through the door to get the keys.
Seeing this, the VC removed the keys from the door where it hung and called the police. The defendant left shortly thereafter.
The court heard that after the police arrived and commenced their probe, the VC was sent for medical treatment for the multiple abrasions to her chest wall and her neck that she sustained during the ordeal.
In the meantime, police met the defendant later that day at a bar in Fahie Hill with his fist wrapped in a shirt and blood flowing from it.
He was informed of the report, but made no reply. He was arrested and taken to the Road Town Police Station.
He was also taken to the hospital for medical attention for the lacerations to his hands that were consistent with him using his fist to smash the glass louvres of the VC's door.
He was interviewed under caution and subsequently charged with the offences.
Magistrate Benjamin offered him bail in the sum of $30,000 with one signed surety.
As part of his bail conditions, he is to surrender his travel documents, attend anger management counselling, and report to the Road Town Police Station every Wednesdays and Saturdays between 6 am to 12 pm.
He was also told that he should not enter into any domestic issues, should not threaten or cause any harm to the VC in the matter.
His matter was adjourned to September 15.
