Mugshot of Defredrick Young. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT
ST. THOMAS — A man accused of attacking his wife at the Margaritaville Resort in St. Thomas following a comment from another man is now facing domestic violence charges in court.
On Monday just after 7:30 p.m., police were summoned to the resort, where they met a woman who said that half an hour earlier, she and her husband Defredrick Young were at the pool with some other guests. One of the other men made a remark to Mr. Young, his wife said, which upset him. He then began shouting and cursing at another man who was present, reportedly threatening to assault him if he did not stay away from the woman.
Mr. Young’s wife said that embarrassed, she left the pool area and went back to their room. As she entered the room, the woman said her husband began to assault her. He grabbed the phone from her hands, she told police, put his hands around her neck, and began to strangle her. She recounted being thrown onto the bed and struggling to get away while Mr. Young continued to strangle her. She says she managed to escape his clutches for a brief moment, during which she tried to get a knife from a drawer to defend herself, but her husband grabbed her by the neck again and continued to restrict her airway, according to court documents.
The woman told officers that she begged her husband to release her, telling him that she could not breathe, but Mr. Young was reportedly not deterred, until his wife was able to escape his grip once more and make her way to the door, where she says she began screaming for help.
Her husband's attempt to drag her back into the room by her hair were foiled, the woman said, when someone upstairs shouted out to her, asking if she was okay. Mr. Young reportedly trailed after his wife as she walked away from him, cursing as he followed behind her.
Police spoke with the woman who had yelled out to Mr. Young’s wife. She told them that she had heard a loud commotion from the downstairs room, at which point she went outside onto the balcony. She told police that she saw Mr. Young standing over his wife, who was on the ground among the plants. The woman says she shouted to him to let his wife up - a suggestion he refused initially before acceding to repeated entreaties.
Mr. Young’s wife, police found, had a cut on her top inner lip, bruising on her right forearm, a broken nail on her right middle finger. Two of her braided extensions had been ripped from her scalp. Mr. Young bore scratches on the left side of his neck. Police also noted damage to the dishwasher inside the hotel room, as well as one of the kitchen drawers.
Defedrick Young was arrested and charged with second-degree assault and destruction of property, both as crimes of domestic violence. Prevailing law precluded an initial offer of bail, and thus he was remanded into custody to await his first court appearance, which was scheduled for June 7.
In court on Wednesday, Mr. Young was placed on a $5,000 unsecured bond as a condition of his release ahead of trial. He is restricted to the St. Thomas/St. John/Water Island district and must check in with the office of probation twice a week over the telephone.
His next court appearance is scheduled for June 23.
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