Man known as ‘Santa’ charged in domestic violence cases
A man whose role in delivering toys to children earned him the nickname “Santa” in the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., area is facing two criminal cases stemming from incidents involving a woman in Salisbury, Conn. — one including allegations that he assaulted her while she was carrying her preschool-age child.
Frank J. Flowers, 50, of Poughkeepsie is free on $195,000 bail while facing charges including felony counts of first-degree burglary and violating a family violence protective order in each case, court records show. First-degree burglary carries up to 20 years in prison.
“The matters are hotly contested,” said lawyer William A. Conti, who represents Flowers in both cases. “My client professes his innocence.”
He added that Flowers is very involved “in the community in Poughkeepsie.”
Pro forma not guilty pleas were entered on Flowers’ behalf to all charges in both cases last September, court records show. His series of appearances at state Superior Court in Torrington included one Tuesday, and he is due back in court May 8, according to the records.
The first incident occurred around 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2022, but was not reported to state police until three days later, according to an affidavit by state Trooper Alexandra Krzywicki.
The woman reported that Flowers had entered her home without permission and left a Santa Claus photo on her bed and a knife on her kitchen table, according to the trooper, who said the woman produced video evidence of what had happened from her son’s motion-activated baby monitor.
The trooper said the video shows Flowers coming out the bathroom door, indicating that he came in through the bathroom window, which the woman said had been left unlocked. No one was home during the incident, the trooper reported.
Admission claimed
The woman reported that Flowers later admitted to having entered the home and leaving the Santa Claus photo and the knife, according to the trooper.
The woman quoted Flowers as saying he used the knife, which was from her kitchen, to cut an avocado, according to the trooper. The woman went on to explain that the Santa Claus photo “was a joke, as Flowers works for a charitable foundation that delivers toys to kids and he is often called ‘Santa,’” the trooper added.
The woman said during her Jan. 4, 2023, meeting with the trooper that she did not want to press charges but understood she could change her mind in the future, the trooper reported. The trooper’s affidavit seeking Flowers’ arrest in the incident is dated Jan. 25, 2023, and a judge signed the arrest warrant two days later.
The protective order Flowers was accused of violating had been issued in New York, the trooper explained.
Flowers had yet to be arrested in that incident in July 2023, when the woman reported a second incident.
The woman said Flowers came over for pizza on July 15 so that they could talk, Trooper Robert Flanigan wrote in an affidavit. The woman said Flowers wanted them to get back together, but she did not, the trooper continued.
On July 19, while she was sleeping with the 3-year-old child in her bed, the woman said, she was awakened with a nudge and saw Flowers standing by the bed, according to the trooper.
‘Seeing anyone?’
She quoted Flowers as saying calmly, “I have a question for you. I will give you a free pass. Have you been seeing anyone? Have you been talking to anyone?” the trooper reported.
The woman said she replied, “What are you talking about? I have not been seeing anyone, but I have friends,” according to the trooper.
The woman said she then “fired back about a girl he has been seeing lately” and an argument ensued, the trooper reported.
When they reached the front door, the woman said, Flowers grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the floor, then held her by the hair and repeatedly slammed her head on the floor, according to the trooper.
The woman said the child began to cry in the bedroom, and Flowers stopped attacking her, the trooper reported.
The woman said she ran to her son and grabbed him, her keys and her phone, at which point Flowers grabbed her and her son, taking them both to the floor, according to the trooper. She said Flowers again began to slam her head on the floor with her hair as her son screamed, the trooper reported.
The woman said Flowers then told her son to “say you’re sorry for your mom causing this to happen,” while he held his hand over her face, making it difficult or impossible for her to breathe, according to the trooper. She reported that her son said, “Sorry,” while crying hysterically, according to the trooper.
As her son’s crying grew louder, Flowers left the house, and the woman got a cellphone photo of him in her driveway with the car he drives, time stamped 6:19 a.m. on July 19, according to the trooper.
In addition to the burglary and protective order charges, Flowers is facing a felony count of risk of injury to a child and two felony counts of first-degree unlawful restraint in the July incident, as well as misdemeanor counts of third-degree assault and third-degree suffocation, court records show.
The woman reported that Flowers had entered her home without permission and left a Santa Claus photo on her bed and a knife on her kitchen table, according to (a state) trooper, who said the woman produced video evidence of what had happened from her son’s motion-activated baby monitor . ... (The woman said) the Santa Claus photo “was a joke, as Flowers works for a charitable foundation that delivers toys to kids and he is often called ‘Santa,’” the trooper added.