JOHN MICHAEL DUVAL
WESTFIELD – A Southwick Road man was arrested for assault and larceny charges Saturday after allegedly assaulting his then girlfriend.
A Southwood Acres resident had come to the department Friday afternoon to complain of domestic assault. Officer Gary Hagar reports the woman said that she had been beaten by her boyfriend, John Michal Duval, 28, of 342 Southwick Road.
The victim told Hagar that she had been swimming in the pool at her apartment complex and when she returned to her home she found her boyfriend of two years, who was upset because he had not been able to contact her, waiting for her.
The woman said that an argument ensued and Duval accused her of infidelity before the altercation became physical when he pushed her head into a wall, causing her to fall to the floor.
While she was on the floor, the woman said, Duval grabbed her hair and smashed her head against the floor before she was able to regain her feet.
The man continued to assault her and demanded that she give him her cellphone so he could search for evidence of her perceived infidelity. When she refused to hand over her phone, the woman said, Duval punched her with a closed fist.
The woman said that Duval continued to punch her and he also pushed her head into the mattress as she pleaded with him to leave her alone and curled into a ball on the bed.
The victim said that when he left the room she locked herself inside and could hear him going through her purse. When the woman eventually was able to reclaim her purse she found $25 in cash and her medication missing.
The woman said that the she fell asleep but when she awoke at 4 a.m. she could hear that Duval was still in the apartment. When she awoke at 9 a.m. she heard no sounds and left the apartment.
She told Hagar that she first went to hospital and then to Westfield District Court for a protective order.
From there, the woman said, she went to the police station.
Hagar filed an application for a warrant and on Saturday morning, the victim called police to report that Duval had violated the protective order by coming back to the apartment.
Officer Aaron Spiller found that the protective order had not been served but when Duval was found at the apartment he was arrested on charges of assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, intimidating a witness, and two charges of larceny of property valued less than $250.
When taken into custody, he was found to be in possession of the victim’s debit card.
Duval was arraigned Sunday before Judge Philip A. Contant in Westfield District Court and released on $1,500 personal surety pending an Aug. 28 hearing.
