36-year-old Mario Demon Jones was involved in a domestic altercation with his girlfriend, Kerisa Baker, at a Raleigh Court apartment residence on July 11th. When officers arrived, they found Jones with a large cut on his forearm and Baker with a large bruise and a lump on her forearm.
Both Baker and Jones stated that Jones intentionally cut his forearm in an attempt to prevent Baker from leaving.
However, when officers spoke with Baker separately, she claimed that when she tried to leave, Jones grabbed her forearm, causing the bruise. She also stated that when she attempted to leave again, Jones grabbed a knife and cut himself. Baker believed this was an attempt to intimidate her and use emotional stress to make her stay. Baker told officers that she believed Jones meant to cause her harm but clarified that nothing physical had happened and that she had not been assaulted. She refused to provide a written statement or let officers photograph her injury, and she claimed that Jones did not brandish the weapon or act in any way other than self-harming.
When officers spoke with Jones, he admitted to cutting his forearm to prevent Baker from leaving but denied grabbing Baker’s arm. Based on their investigation, officers considered Jones to be the primary aggressor. Officers took Jones into custody for domestic assault on July 12th.
