41-year-old Rose Hinds had a domestic altercation with her ex-boyfriend, Joshua Franklin Pettyjohn, at her Bullock Avenue residence on May 15th. Hinds told officers that Pettyjohn had come over while she was sleeping and started asking where one of his belongings was before punching her in the chest. Then, Hinds said the argument moved to the porch, where he kept attacking her, so she picked up a stick to defend herself.
Pettyjohn told deputies that Hinds initiated the scuffle, hitting him first. Pettyjohn added that Hinds struck his arm with a stick when the incident moved outside. Officers noticed he had scratches on his neck from the dispute. Then, officers spoke with Lashawnda Harper, a witness, who claimed that Hinds and Pettyjohn were pulling each other’s hair and grabbing at one another on the ground. She said that after hearing them outside, she saw Hinds hit Pettyjohn with the stick while he tried to go back inside the residence. Officers discovered that the stick had nails sticking out on one side. Hinds was deemed the primary aggressor and was taken into custody for aggravated assault.