Saturday, August 16, 2014
Staff report
YOUNGSTOWN
A South Side man is in Mahoning County jail on $80,000 bond after police said he hit his girlfriend’s car with his own and beat her when she tried to get away from him.
Dennis Gardner, 33, of West Judson Avenue, was arraigned Friday before Judge Elizabeth Kobly in Youngstown Municipal Court on charges of felonious assault and tampering with evidence, both felonies, and domestic violence and driving under suspension, both misdemeanors.
Police were called to an East Philadelphia Avenue home about 6:55 p.m. Thursday, where a woman told them she and Gardner, her live-in boyfriend, had been arguing because Gardner had messages on his computer from other women.
The victim said she was driving on West Judson Avenue when a car driven by Gardner drove directly at hers. She swerved to miss him but he swiped the side of her car, which activated her driver’s-side air bag, reports said.
The woman made it to their home and tried to run inside, but Gardner caught her, threw her on the ground and punched her in the face and head several times, reports said.
Police said the woman had several marks on her and her eye was swollen. They also looked at her car, which had damage on the side, and the air bag was also deployed, reports said.
The woman managed to leave and drove to the East Philadelphia Avenue home, where she called police.
Gardner left, but police found him at a home in the 500 block of Samuel Avenue trying to clean the side of his car, which also had heavy front-end damage, reports said.