POLICE REPORT Man faces domestic violence charges

Children told investigators they were forced to sit at a table for 15 hours.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- A state Route 46 man accused of beating his girlfriend's children and shocking them with an electronic fly swatter has pleaded innocent to domestic violence charges.
Joe Jones Sr., 37, surrendered to police Wednesday and was arraigned Monday in Mahoniong County Court here on four counts of domestic violence. His pretrial is set for Sept. 13.
Reports state that the 16-year-old daughter of Jones' girlfriend called police Aug. 6 and said Jones had punched her in the face at their home.
The girl also said Jones had physically abused her and her 15-year-old sister and 11-year-old brother repeatedly during the last two years, at times shocking them with an electronic fly swatter.
The fly swatter, which was confiscated by police, is yellow and black and looks like a small tennis racket with wire mesh netting. When a person touches the netting, there's a loud pop and he or she feels a stinging electric shock.
The shock can leave a person's fingers pulsating and numb for several minutes. Detective Sgt. Ray Holmes said the device is on sale at a local hardware store for $4.99.
It is sold in a package that warns it should not be used by children and states that it conducts 1,500 volts of electricity. That's more than 10 times the voltage accessible in a standard 120-volt household outlet.
Allegations
The three children told investigators that when they were grounded, Jones would make them sit motionless at the kitchen table for 15 hours. If they moved, Jones would punch them, shock them with the fly swatter, or beat them with a leather belt or yard stick, depending on how they had moved.
The 16-year-old told police that Jones came home drunk at about 9 p.m. Aug. 6 and found her and a friend watching television against his wishes. Jones then punched the 16-year-old in the face, cutting her lip, reports state. The friend said she was hiding upstairs when Jones punched the girl.
Jones then told the 16-year-old that he was kicking her out of the house, reports state. The girl called police after Jones left.
The girl's mother was at work at the time, Holmes added.
Jones later told police that he did not punch the girl. He said the girl and her 11-year-old brother were "doing things they were not to do" and that he told them to go to bed.
Reports state that Jones told police he and the teenager have had disagreements in the past.
The children are now staying with their grandmother, police said. Reports say the 16-year-old later went with police to pick up some of her clothing at the home of Jones and her mother, only to find that Jones had burned all her belongings.
Another report
Police also are continuing to investigate a report that a Warren man disciplined his 2-year-old stepdaughter by using a fake remote control that can shock the person holding it.
The girl's grandmother, who lives in Austintown, told police she took the fake remote control from the girl's home last year.
The remote control has a silver button which, when pushed, delivers a pulsating shock. The manufacturer's name is not listed on the fake remote, nor is the amount of voltage delivered in the shock.
The grandmother said she decided to call police in July after her neighbor told her the 2-year-old was being beaten.
The neighbor told police he saw the girl's stepfather pick her up by her arm and ponytail and hit her head against a wall. He said the stepfather then put his knee in the girl's back and forced her face into the corner of a porch.
hill@vindy.com