A man has been charged with aggravated assault and other offenses after allegedly striking a woman multiple times with a baseball bat before she escaped to a nearby gas station in Yigo.
The magistrate's complaint against Sidney William stems from a report of a woman needing help at a gas station on Nov. 1.
“Upon arrival, officers noted the victim sitting on the ground with blood on her shirt and multiple visible injuries to her face,” the complaint states.
According to the complaint, the alleged assault occurred at approximately 7 p.m. that same day after William and the woman got into an argument.
“Sidney punched her in the face, slapped her and struck her with a bat. Sidney has been consuming alcoholic beverages before the argument. Sidney stopped to continue drinking before resuming assaulting the victim again. Sidney struck her with a bat on the face, top of her head and on the back side of her legs,” the complaint states.
The woman told police William threatened to kill her if she left the residence. She eventually managed to flee, but William allegedly chased her with the baseball bat to the gas station.
A witness told police they heard the woman scream and saw her running. Gas station employees locked the doors after she arrived seeking help, according to the complaint.
Police documented multiple injuries, including a 1.5-inch hematoma on the upper left side of the woman's head, a swollen left eye, bruising and swelling on both cheeks, and multiple large bruises on the backs of her legs.
When officers went to the woman's residence, they encountered William and explained why they were there.
“Sidney told the officers, ‘I know why you are here,’” the complaint states. It further alleges William acknowledged that whatever the woman told police he had done was true.
William allegedly also acknowledged that hitting the woman was wrong and told officers the baseball bat was hanging behind the door. The complaint said police confiscated a black, purple and brown colored aluminum bat.
While in police custody, William allegedly admitted to striking the woman with his hands but said he could not remember how many times he slapped her.
When officers asked whether he had hit her with the bat, William allegedly responded, “If I hit her with the bat, she would not have been able to run away.”
However, the complaint states that he again reiterated that whatever the woman said about the incident was true.
William was charged with aggravated assault and terrorizing, both third-degree felonies, and family violence, a misdemeanor.
Following a magistrate hearing Nov. 3, William was detained at the Department of Corrections with bail set at $5,000.