Cape man faces felony charge of assaulting girlfriend

A Cape Girardeau man has been charged with second-degree, felony domestic assault after allegedly hitting his live-in girlfriend over cellphone messages.

Judge Gary Kamp issued an arrest warrant Monday for Justin R. Tope, 32.

In a probable-cause statement filed in circuit court, Cape Girardeau County sheriff's deputy J. Wiseman wrote he responded to a report of domestic abuse Sunday at a Cape Girardeau-area apartment where Tope resided with his girlfriend and her two children, ages 10 and 6.

Wiseman reported that the victim had "a large amount of swelling on the left side of her face along her left eye, as well as deep bruising."

The deputy said Tope told him he did not know how his girlfriend sustained the injury, adding that "maybe she walked into a door."

According to the probable-cause statement, Wiseman noticed abrasions on Tope's right-hand knuckles.

Wiseman wrote that the victim subsequently dictated a statement to a friend "due to her vision being too blurry to see because of the injury to her eye."

In the dictated statement, the victim said, "I was asleep. Justin woke me up and slapped me in the face. He was yelling, 'you are going to be with me' as he was slapping me at least 10 times ... While it was happening, I felt scared and very fearful and just prayed it would stop."

According to the probable-cause statement, the victim said Tope "came to her demanding she apologize for messages on her cellphone."

Cash bond was set at $7,500 with a stipulation Tope would have to wear an alcohol-monitoring device and stay more than 1,000 feet away from the victim's residence and place of employment, according to court documents.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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