Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Parents charged in domestic quarrel

A child was caught in the middle of a domestic quarrel and required to testify about what happened between the parents.

Because of the childs age, no names will be used.

Nevada County Sheriffs Office Deputy Aaron Easley took the stand in Municipal Court on Feb. 15, stating he answered a call on Dec. 10, 2005, at about 6:30 p.m.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Dana Stone asked what he found upon arrival at the husbands house. Easley said the mans eye was swollen and he was holding a pair of broken glasses.

According to Easley, the man said he and the child were driving down Highway 278 when he noticed the mothers vehicle at his fathers residence. The child, he said, asked why the mother was there and they went back.

The father told the mother to leave, but she reportedly began screaming. Easley said he didnt see the physical altercation as it took about 45 minutes for him to arrive after getting the call.

The mother took the stand first, saying she had taken the childs grandfather to eat, as he had called and asked. She said when the father drove up she walked to the vehicle and was grabbed.

She claimed her ex-husband pulled her thumb back and spat tobacco in her face for two minutes. She told the court she got in her car, called her mother and had her mother call the NCSO.

The father took the stand saying he and the child were returning from the deer camp when they drove past his fathers house and saw the mother there. The child, he said, wanted to go back, so they did.

According to him, the mother was in her car on the phone when he arrived, got out of her vehicle, got in his face and slapped him twice, then attempted to choke him before finally striking him in the right eye.

He said he shoved her away, got in his vehicle and left, with her saying it wasnt over.

The ex-husband presented his fathers phone bills saying his father never called the ex-wife. He instead claimed she called him.

Stone said the phone records were not relevant to the battery charge.

Municipal Judge Gene Hale and Stone retired to the Judges Chamber with the child, not forcing the child to testify in open court. When they returned, Hale found both parties guilty and issued a no-contact order, though he admitted it would be hard to have no contact with a child involved.

The mother was ordered to pay restitution for the glasses in the amount of $186.96. Both were fined $560, though the fine and court costs were suspended.