Man arrested after breaking down door, firing gun, biting girlfriend

Staff report

youngstown

A South Side man was arrested Monday afternoon after police say he choked and bit the mother of his children and also fired her gun several times in the air in their backyard.

James P. Hendrix, 40, Mabel Avenue, was arrested about 3:20 p.m. on charges of domestic violence, being a felon in possession of a firearm, a warrant for failure to appear, possession of drugs marijuana and discharging a firearm in a prohibited area. He is in the Mahoning County jail pending arraignment in municipal court today.

Police were called to the neighborhood for reports of a man kicking in a door and gunfire and when they arrived they found the door at his home kicked in but Hendrix was not there. His girlfriend said they argued and he choked her, bit her twice on the neck, grabbed her pink .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun and fired four to six rounds in the backyard.

While he was in the backyard, the girlfriend locked the door but he kicked it open, choked and bit her again and left. An officer found him at Cameron and Gibson avenues and took him into custody at gunpoint. Reports said Hendrix told officers he admitted to firing a gun and he left the gun in the garage. He also had a bag of marijuana on him when he was taken into custody.

Police found the pink gun in a baby stroller and ammunition in a car in the garage. The girlfriend had at least two bite marks on her neck, reports said.