BEDFORD – On Wednesday, May 8, at 4:01 a.m., after receiving numerous complaints about a domestic fight, Bedford Police Officer Christian Anderson responded to the 3000 block of Washington Avenue.
While en route, the officer was alerted the male involved had a firearm.
When officers arrived, they found a woman on the front porch. She stated her boyfriend, 38-year-old Jammal Underwood, had left in a white Nissan Altima.
Sgt. Faheem Bade reported the vehicle attempted to flee north on Washington Avenue. Both Sgt. Bade and Officer Nick Crulo ordered Underwood to stop the vehicle, but the car sped off at a high rate of speed.
Officer Anderson pursued the car but lost sight of the vehicle and returned to the scene.
The woman told police that “Jammal had done some really bad things.” When asked if Underwood had touched her, she began crying and said, “Can I just say no.”
Officers were then alerted by Sgt. Bade was holding Underwood at gunpoint. Sgt. Bade had found Underwood in a parking space in front of an apartment near 28th Street and Washington Avenue.
The woman was not cooperative and would not tell officers what happened. She said that Underwood had taken her and her son’s cell phones. She said she called 911 because Underwood had a gun and had racked the slide to chamber a round. She was asked if Underwood pointed the loaded weapon at anyone, and she refused to answer.
A friend told police the woman had called her crying and said this was not the first time Underwood had injured her. The woman told the friend that Underwood had choked her and stolen her phone and her son’s phone. She could hear the woman yelling at Underwood to leave. The friend ended the call and dialed 911.
When the female friend arrived at the home, Underwood approached her vehicle, told her to leave, and threatened her.
Officer Clint Blackburn spoke to the victim. She finally admitted Underwood had choked her and pushed her around inside the house. He then put his hands around her neck and forced her into the bedroom closet. The woman said she believed Underwood intended to “intimidate her with the gun.”
Underwood told police he had fallen asleep, and when he woke, the woman was hitting him.
Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Joshua Rhoades arrived on the scene with his partner Dusty, who alerted police to possible drugs in the vehicle. When police searched, they found a firearm holster and one 9mm bullet. Police believe Underwood possibly threw the weapon while fleeing from the scene.
Officers canvased the area and found the 9mm Glock 19 in a yard in the 3000 block of Washington Avenue.
Underwood was arrested on charges of criminal confinement, domestic battery in the presence of a minor, resisting law enforcement, obstruction of justice, and intimidation with a deadly weapon.
The Department of Child Services was also alerted.
