Mugshot of Kamane Joseph. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. CROIX — A man accused of punching and strangling his ex-girlfriend outside of her apartment now faces felony domestic violence charges in court.
According to court documents, on the morning of September 27, the 911 Emergency Call Center received a report of domestic violence at the Aureo Diaz Heights Housing Apartments. Responding officers met with a woman who said that she had left her residence at about 7:00 a.m. to throw away the garbage.
When she left the apartment, there was nobody in the area, however as she stepped through the archway of the building on her return, the woman told officers that Kamane Joseph, her ex-boyfriend, startled her by jumping out from where he had been hiding.
He reportedly asked his ex to step out of the archway so they could talk, and when she refused, he tried to pull her away from where she was standing. She anchored herself by holding on to a neighbor’s door, and Joseph reportedly put his hands around her throat and began squeezing, cutting off her air supply.
She was able to call out to her mother, and told police that when Joseph heard the door open, he released her neck, punched her in the face, and ran away. The woman said she then ran upstairs to the safety of her apartment.
When police spoke to the mother, she said that she was inside when she heard a woman’s voice screaming “Ma!”, which is when she realized her daughter had not come back from throwing the trash. The mother said she opened the door and walked downstairs, and that’s when she saw her daughter rush past and stand behind her while Joseph ran out of the archway.
The woman’s mother told police she asked her daughter’s ex why he was there, and he said that he wanted to speak with the younger woman.
It was not until mother and daughter got back into their home that the parent realized her daughter’s face was injured, and police were called via 911.
Officers noted scratches on the daughter’s neck as well as swelling and discoloration on the left side of her face, where she had reportedly been punched.
Police efforts to locate Joseph included an all-points bulletin circulated via social media as well as through the 911 call center, and he was eventually detained near a gas station on the morning of October 5. He was arrested and charged with second-degree assault, simple assault and battery, and disturbance of the peace — all as acts of domestic violence.
Joseph was remanded into custody to await his first court appearance on October 6. The result of Friday’s appearance before Magistrate Yolan Brow-Ross had not been made available to the public as of press time, however another hearing has been scheduled for October 11.
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