A 33-year-old man — who has a domestic violence history — faces more charges after getting into a fight with a woman and then not allowing her to call for help.
Jake Francis Hines was charged Dec. 14 in Crow Wing County District Court with felony domestic assault and two gross misdemeanors of endangering children and interrupting an emergency call.
According to the probable cause document filed against Hines, Brainerd police officers were called at 6:08 a.m. Dec. 11 to conduct a welfare check at a residence on Second Avenue Northeast in Brainerd. The complainant requested a welfare check on her coworker as she was supposed to be at work in Crosby, but she was not present. The complainant reported it was unusual for her to be late to work or not call in.
An officer responded to the residence and was greeted by the woman in question. It was immediately apparent to the officer that she was in a state of distress, as she had extremely red eyes with a significant amount of redness around her eyes as though she had been crying for a while. The office also observed a large red area on the left side of her jawline and neck area next to her ear as well as four scratch-like marks on the red mark.
The officer began speaking with her about her current state. The report states she talked in a shallow, timid, scared voice while her arms were crossed in front of her chest and she continually looked down. The officer also noted she repeatedly chewed on the end of her sweatshirt sleeve.
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She began explaining a fight she got into with Hines the night prior. She said it began as a verbal argument. She was very vague with the officer during the conversation and repeatedly made comments about not wanting Hines to get in trouble or how she did not want to press charges, the document stated
Through further conversation, the officer learned Hines attempted to take her cell phone and he began damaging things inside the apartment. She invited the officer inside the residence and showed three different apartment doors with holes punched in them and they were completely removed from the hinges on the wall. The dresser drawers were pulled out and the bedroom was scattered with clothing items. She stated Hines trashed her bedroom throughout the night. There also was a broken humidifier on the kitchen floor and a hole in the wall.
She reportedly told Hines she was going to call the cops, and he again attempted to get her phone, but he was unsuccessful. He then took the power cord for the Wi-Fi router and ripped it out of the wall, according to the report. Her phone only works on Wi-Fi and now she couldn’t call for help.
Around 1 a.m. she said she was lying in her bed when Hines came into the bedroom and began yelling at her again and tried to take her phone. It was during this time that Hines reportedly struck her on the left side of her face. While grabbing for her phone, Hines also had scratched her face, the complaint stated.
At what she believed to be about 3 a.m., she said she woke up to begin getting ready for work. Upon waking up, the arguing and fighting with Hines continued. This resulted in Hines taking her car keys. Hines had left the residence about 45 minutes before the police arrived.
During the entire incident, three children were present in the house throughout the night, all under age 4.
Hines has prior qualified domestic violence related offense convictions. In 2014, Hines was convicted of misdemeanor assault and convicted in 2016 of gross misdemeanor domestic assault.
