Man assaults mother, charged with battery
A local man was arrested on a felony battery charge Sunday morning after allegedly assaulting his 68-year-old mother and pushing her down the stairs.
Jeremy Daniel Bennett, 38, of 140 Smith St., was arrested at the residence shortly after 11:30 a.m. and charged with second-degree domestic battery, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Bennett was being held on zero bond and was set to appear Monday in Garland County
District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, shortly after 11 a.m. Sunday, Garland County sheriff’s Deputy Matt Cogburn was dispatched to the Smith Street residence regarding a disturbance that had occurred earlier where the alleged suspect was no longer on the scene.
He spoke to the female resident, 68, who stated about 45 minutes earlier she had returned to her home and found her son, identified as Bennett, inside “going through her stuff and acting strange.” She said she asked him what he was doing and he told her his girlfriend had dropped him off and he was “getting his things.”
She said she told Bennett to stop going through her belongings
and he began to yell and curse at her. She said she was trying to get her son to leave so she could lock the door when he charged at her, shoving her with both hands and causing her to fall out of the doorway and down the stairs.
The victim’s left arm was injured on some rocks at the bottom of the stairs, causing an abrasion and soreness. As she was showing Cogburn her injury, the deputy heard someone moving in the backyard of the residence.
The woman called Bennett’s name and Cogburn heard a man respond, “What?” He then told the woman to go inside as he radioed for assistance. The woman spotted Bennett walking on Smith Street and pointed him out to Cogburn.
The deputy headed that direction and made contact with Bennett, who he reportedly recognized from previous encounters. He was taken into custody without incident and a domestic violence form was completed with the victim and she was advised to contact a domestic violence advocate for further assistance.
Bennett was on parole at the time of his arrest, having previously pleaded guilty June 4, 2018, to felony counts of arson and breaking or entering. He was sentenced to six years in prison at that time but had since been released.