Break-up Leads to Domestic Violence
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
CROCKETT – A Crockett man is in jail after a reconciliation attempt with his ex-girlfriend went horribly wrong.
Raymond Neil Kent, Jr., 39, was arrested and charged with burglary of a habitation and assault with a deadly weapon following his alleged actions during the early morning hours of Tuesday, Aug. 20.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Crockett Police Department Officer Nicholas Martinez was on patrol late Monday night/early Tuesday morning when he was dispatched to the 100 block of West Austin Street in reference to a disturbance.
“When I (Martinez) arrived, I observed the victim through the front window sitting on a bed with a towel over her arm. I was then met by her daughter who showed me into the room. As I was walking through the house, I observed multiple areas with blood all on the ground and walls leading to the bedroom,” the affidavit stated.
The CPD officer indicated he observed the victim sitting on the bed with blood all over her and attempted to treat her wounded arm while waiting on medical assistance to arrive, the affidavit reported.
During this time, Martinez began to question the victim about what happened and learned the victim had “… picked up the suspect, Raymond Neil Kent, to bring him back to her house so they could work things out.”
The affidavit further reported, “Later they were in the bedroom smoking a cigarette when he began to get aggressive out of nowhere, putting his hands around her neck, pushing her down and hitting her three or four times in the face with a closed fist.”
An EMS crew arrived at the location and transported the victim to Crockett Medical Center for further treatment.
After arriving at the hospital, Martinez continued to question the victim and was joined by Sergeant Andrew Allen during the interview.
“Sergeant Allen confirmed with her that on Sunday morning, Kent came and got all of his stuff out of the house on Austin Street, effectively moving out of the residence, after officers did a civil standby early Sunday morning,” the legal document stated.
The victim also informed the police sergeant she had picked up Kent at approximately 10 pm, on the evening of the assault, to talk things over. While Kent and the victim were sitting on the back porch, the victim asked Kent about several messages on his phone.
She further told Allen “… that Kent became enraged with her because she told him to leave. He then jumped on top of her, held her down and hit her on the left side of her face.”
Kent then walked away and the victim was able close and lock her door. Next, the affidavit indicated Kent went to the front of the house, broke a window with a chair and re-entered the residence through the broken window.
The police report further indicated, the victim was able to grab a baseball bat but “… Kent then got on top of her with a piece of glass in his right hand and began to swing the glass at the victim, striking the victim on the left forearm, causing a major laceration. The victim then told Sgt. Allen she began to swing the bat at Kent, striking him which caused Kent to retreat to the front door where he threw a fire extinguisher at the victim and then left the residence.”
Kent was taken into custody the next day and charged with burglary of a habitation as well as aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Both offenses are considered as second degree felonies.
According to Section 12.33 of the Texas Penal Code, “An individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the second degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the institutional division for any term of not more than 20 years or less than two years. In addition to imprisonment, an individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the second degree may be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000.”
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
