VIPD mugshot of Sheldon Hendrickson. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. CROIX — A man accused of assaulting the mother of his child is now facing domestic violence charges before the V.I. Superior Court.
According to the affidavit, police were alerted to the incident when the woman went to the Ancilmo Marshall Command police station on the afternoon of July 29 to report that she had been assaulted by Sheldon Hendrickson.
She told police that she and Hendrickson shared an eight-year relationship and a six year old son. Earlier this year, she and the boy moved into Hendrickson's apartment, and that's when the frequent physical assaults began, the woman said.
Last Tuesday's incident started when Hendrickson reportedly came home around 10 a.m. and found her cooking breakfast for her and her son. When she was finished, she told police that she dished out her plate of food and took it to the bedroom to eat. During the meal, she was participating in a video call with her sister.
Hendrickson reportedly came into the bedroom, looking upset, and informed the woman that there were other women who would cook for him. She said that she retorted saying that other men would similarly cook for her, and that triggered the rage of her child's father.
The woman said that Hendrickson jumped on the bed and grabbed her neck with his left hand, squeezing. She told police that she begged him not to attack her in front of their child, but he continued to strangle her, uttering profanities. Her sister, still on the call, reportedly began screaming for him to stop, but he just slapped the phone out of her hand.
Hendrickson only stopped when the woman asked her sister to call the police, she said. Once he had left the house, she set off for the police station to make a report. Officers noted scratches on her neck.
When police spoke to the woman's sister, she corroborated her version of events, according to the affidavit. The woman's minor son also told police that his father jumped on the bed and began fighting his mother, scratching her neck in the process.
When police showed up at Hendrickson's apartment on the afternoon of July 30, he was waiting. He was ready to be arrested, he reportedly told them, and officers proceeded to do just that. He was charged with second-degree assault and simple assault and battery, both as crimes of domestic violence. He was also charged with disturbing the peace and remanded into custody.
Hendrickson appeared before Magistrate Yolan Brow Ross on August 1. The judge found probable cause to uphold all charges against him, and set bail at $50,000. However, Hendrickson will have to post $1000 to secure his release ahead of trial, with the remainder signed as an unsecured bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for August 20.
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