By Joe Johnson
A Jackson County man was recently arrested in Athens for allegedly assaulting a woman with a hammer, according to an Athens-Clarke County police report.
Ronkex Darmeno Sims, 32, of Jefferson, is the father of the 30-year-old victim's children, according to the report.
The report notes that an officer responded Sunday night to University Oaks apartments off West Broad Street to investigate an unknown problem, and while there, the officer was informed by a woman that her roommate had been attacked a few days earlier by Sims, who allegedly held the victim down by the throat and chest while striking her with a hammer.
When the officer asked the victim what had happened, she said that she had injured her arm three days before when she fell on some stairs, according to the report.
When the officer asked to see the arm, the victim “showed me her left arm which had significant swelling and bruising for an ‘accident’ that occurred 3 days ago,” the officer wrote in his report.
When admitting to what actually happened, the woman reportedly began to cry and did not refute the officer’s account of what he believed occurred, according to the report.
She then told the officer that Sims was prohibited from being around her or the children.
“At the time, she seemed to be the most concerned with the welfare of her children and not her physical well-being,” the officer wrote in the report, adding that based on the history between the victim and suspect, Sims was arrested and charged with aggravated assault.
According to th Clarke County Sheriff’s Office, Sims was booked into jail on the additional charges of violating a family violence order and family violence battery.
A Municipal Court judge denied Sims bond at a hearing on Monday.
Anyone who is in an abusive relationship can seek advice and services by calling Project Safe’s 24-hour hotline at (706) 543-3331, or by visiting http://www.project-safe.org.