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Mugshots of Tiffany Maloon and Kaseem Bruno. By. THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT
ST. THOMAS — A Contant Knolls couple are both facing domestic violence related charges after damaging each other's phones during a dispute which allegedly turned violent.
On Wednesday Tiffany Maloon and Kaseem Bruno appeared together for a virtual hearing before Judge Carolynn Hermon-Percell. Both are charged separately with destruction of property and disturbance of the peace. Bruno is also charged with simple assault after allegedly punching Maloon.
According to the probable case fact sheet, on the night of October 19th officers were dispatched to Contant Knolls in reference to a disturbance. Outside the residence, they encountered the complainant Tiffany Maloon who stated, “I’m tired of being a punching bag.” Maloon told police that when she arrived home, Bruno started arguing with her about leaving the kids at home without supervision. She said that during the argument he grabbed her phone out of her hand and slammed it on the ground, damaging it. According to Maloon, she in turn became irate and slammed Bruno’s two cellphones on the ground damaging them as well.
The woman further told police that when she attempted to leave the apartment with her three children, Bruno grabbed her to stop her from leaving and punched her to the face. She then left the apartment and called 911 for assistance.
Officers later found Bruno sitting in the living room of the residence, where he stated, “It’s whatever, go with me if ayo want to.” He also told police that he was tired of Maloon “leaving the kids home alone to go hang out with her friends.” Both Bruno and Maloon were booked, processed and turned over to the Bureau of Corrections.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Assistant V.I. Attorney General Brenda Scales noted that Bruno appeared to be the aggressor in the matter and that based on the fact sheet, he was the only one to become violent during the dispute. She stated that Bruno should be required to reside elsewhere pending the outcome of the matter. Scales noted that Maloon holds the lease to the residence and should be allowed to remain there with her three children who are not Bruno’s biological children.
Scales also revealed that Bruno has a concerning criminal history, having been previously charged with first-degree murder and child abuse in a matter involving the death of an infant. Court documents reveal that Bruno was accused of strangling his 2-month old daughter with a cord in April 2010, because “she would not stop crying”. An autopsy confirmed that the infant “died of asphyxiation from ligature strangulation, and that she had broken ribs and head trauma.” In 2011, Bruno agreed to a deal which saw him receiving a 15 year prison sentence after pleading guilty to aggravated child abuse. However, he was reportedly released on parole in 2019.
At the conclusion of Wednesday’s hearing regarding the current domestic violence charges, Kaseem Bruno’s bail was set at $1,500 with allowance for the posting of 10 percenet. Judge Hermon- Percell affirmed that Tiffany Maloon would be released on the posting of an unsecured bond of $500. The couple is prohibited from having any unlawful contact with each other and Bruno is not allowed to visit Maloon’s residence.
