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Last updated on Monday, January 12, 2015
(SOLSBERRY) - A Solsberry man was arrested after juveniles told police they witnessed him beat a woman and the family’s pets.
33-year-old Clinton L. James of Solsberry was arrested last week after a domestic disturbance. He is now facing charges of domestic battery with a prior conviction, and three counts of intimidation, all level 6 felonies; and domestic battery, a class A misdemeanor.
According to a probable cause affidavit, police received a complaint of an "ongoing physical family disturbance," around 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 8.
Juveniles had told school officials that James had allegedly been violent with the woman for five days and told the juveniles if anyone turned him in to police he would kill everyone.
One juvenile told officials they had been locked in a closet and that there were multiple firearms in James's home.
When police went to the home, a woman answered the door. The woman had been "severely bruised, beaten and battered."
At first the woman told police she had been injured by their donkey, but after talking to James and the woman they learned there had been a physical altercation but the woman would not admit that James had injured her.
Police were called back to the home after the woman called the Greene County Sheriff's Department to report that James was damaging the property and had pushed her and left the home.
When police arrived at the home just after 1 a.m. they found the woman had fresh bruises and red marks on her neck. She finally admitted that James had injured her. Police described her as depressed, exhausted and distraught. The woman told police that she was sore all over due to five or six days of "brutality." She told police that James had beat, elbowed, pinched, punched, kicked and thrown her down and threatened to kill her and her children, in addition to burning the house down.
The juveniles in the home told police similar stories and said James was also abusive to the family's pets.
The children had allegedly reported to school officials they had been living in fear. School officials reported the incidents to The Department of Child Services who had allegedly become involved, but with no results.
James was stopped by Bloomington police at the Monroe-Greene County line and he was arrested.
James told police he was "just trying to leave the bad situation" but would not speak any more about the case after his rights were read.
Police say James had been arrested in 2001 for domestic battery, but was not convicted, and had been convicted in 2013 of a domestic battery, class D felony.
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