A Morgantown man is being held at North Central Regional Jail after an alleged fight with two female victims who said he stole prescription pills and jewelry from their apartment.
Morgantown police officers were dispatched to a Washington Street apartment after a caller reported a male had “broken a female’s jaw.”
According to a criminal complaint filed by MPD officer D.J. Moore, when police arrived on scene at approximately 9 a.m. on Jan. 7, the caller yelled from a window that the male, later identified as Shawn Luke Collins, 31, of Morgantown, was still inside the apartment.
Collins then began walking down the stairs from the second-story apartment when, Moore wrote, officers ordered him to “step out and show his hands.”
Collins complied with the request, but began resisting when Officer Iambamrung attempted to restrain him so they could investigate the call.
According to a second criminal complaint filed by Iambamrung, Collins attempted to pull away, refused to put his hands behind his back and at one point shoved the officer in an attempt to flee.
Other officers on scene ultimately had to assist Iambamrung in detaining Collins by taking him to the ground for handcuffing. The complaint says while on the ground Collins “continued to resist and showed aggression by yelling profanity and attempted to get up.”
After restraining Collins, officer Moore spoke with the two female victims who said Collins had “hung out” with them at the apartment the previous night, but had left around 7 a.m. The two women also left the apartment at that time.
The women told Moore that when they returned to their apartment a short while later the door to their apartment had been forcibly opened. In the complaint, the officer said he say a broken door frame with pieces of wood lying around it.
The victims said they found Collins inside their apartment and told him to leave, which he did. However, after he left the women noticed that Collins had allegedly stolen several things, including prescription Clonazepam pills and jewelry.
One of the victims told Moore she texted Collins about the missing items and shortly after, he returned to the apartment and “forced his way in,” yelling profanities.
According to the complaint, Collins allegedly punched one of the women in the shoulder and used an open hand to push her face back, which injured her nose. Moore said he could see redness and small specks of blood on her nose.
Collins then allegedly choked the second woman, preventing her from breathing for what she described as “about 10-15 seconds,” the complaint said. He then allegedly hit her on the left side of her jaw and continued to strike the back of her head.
Moore stated the woman had difficulty speaking and told police she thought her jaw was broken. Ruptured blood vessels on the top of her ears and redness and irritation in a circular pattern around her throat were also visible, indicating strangulation had occurred.
The officer also reported seeing “swelling and redness to the left socket area of [her] jaw and further swelling/redness to the back right side of her head.”
While running Collins’ information, officers also discovered he was wanted in Upshur County for possession of methamphetamine.
Collins is charged with felony burglary and strangulation as well as misdemeanor obstructing an officer. He pleaded not guilty to the charges at an arraignment hearing in Monongalia County Magistrate Court and is being held on $7,500 bond.
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