By Joe Johnson
An Athens man was recently arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman the same day he got out of jail from previously assaulting her, according to an Athens-Clarke County police report.
Rafiell Dezon Ellis, 42, had been arrested last Tuesday on a battery charge for an altercation with the 37-year-old victim.
He bonded out of jail on Wednesday with special conditions he have no contact with the woman, but he phoned her that same day, according to the police report.
The woman told police that after receiving the call she placed Ellis’ clothing outside of her apartment and left to get away from the home.
After returning home, the woman said that at about 11 p.m. Ellis showed up at her door, through which he began speaking to her, according to the report.
She reportedly told police that she was scared and had a hammer and cellphone while refusing to open the door.
The woman indicated that Ellis later broke into her home by smashing through a back window and that he proceeded to strike her face multiple times, then put her on the floor and began to choke her, according to the report.
“(The victim) said that it was so long of a period she believed she was going to die,” an officer wrote in the report.
Ellis eventually let the woman get up, but when she later asked if she could leave, Ellis allegedly told her she couldn’t and told her to mop up blood evidence on the floor, according to the police report. The report noted that officer located a mop in a bucket of blood-stained water.
The victim said that she believed when Ellis crushed her cellphone, it was to prevent her from calling the police.
When the victim opened the door for the first arriving police officer, she was wearing a mask that had fresh blood on it, according to the report, and when she removed the mask the officer saw a laceration on her face.
When the officer asked where Ellis was, the woman would not respond but looked around and became emotional, according to the report, and when searching the residence, officers found Ellis hiding in a closet, with “multiple deep cuts all over his body.”
The man reportedly admitted he was injured when breaking through the apartment window, the report noted.
Elis was transported to the hospital for treatment, and upon being released from the facility police arrested him for aggravated assault, aggravated stalking, family violence battery, false imprisonment and second-degree criminal damage.
The woman was also taken to the hospital for treatment of her injuries, which included bruising to her chest and a swollen neck and the facial laceration, the police report noted.
The woman told police the incident lasted from 11 p.m. Wednesday until 2:30 p.m. the next day.
It was not reported until 10:13 a.m. Thursday after an acquaintance of the victim received a voicemail message from about 11 p.m. the previous day in which the victim repeatedly screamed for help, according to the report. The man then contacted a manager at the victim’s apartment complex.
As of Monday afternoon, Elis continued to be held at the county jail without bail being set.
Anyone who is in an abusive relationship can seek advice and services by calling Project Safe’s 24-hour hotline at (706) 54-3331, or by visiting http://www.project-safe.org.
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