Before police officers could ask him a question, a Cape Girardeau man told them, “I am going to take these charges.” The man had blood running down the center of his face.

Robert Davis Taylor, 32, was arrested early Monday and charged with second-degree domestic assault and misdemeanor assault.

His bond was set at $7,500.

Cape Girardeau police officer Johnny Spencer filed a probable-cause statement in the case. What follows comes from the statement.

When Spencer asked Taylor what happened about 1 a.m. in the 1000 block of Bloomfield Road, he said his girlfriend hit him in the head with a whiskey bottle, but only to stop Taylor from attacking her.

“I was punching her in the face like a man,” Taylor said. “She hit me to protect herself.”

As Taylor was placed in handcuffs, he said he deserved the charge and had an active warrant. Taylor had two Cape Girardeau municipal warrants for failure to appear in court for violating open-container law and trespassing.

Spencer talked to the victim and her juvenile daughter, who were next door. Spencer saw the left side of the victim’s face was severely swollen and bruised, and her lips were bloody. The victim and her daughter told identical stories: They were laughing and joking in another room when Taylor arrived in a rage because he thought he was the butt of the jokes. He then punched the victim several times on the left side of her face.

The daughter tried to intervene, but Taylor pulled her to the side by her hair. Taylor attacked the victim again, saying he would kill them both. The daughter was able to kick Taylor, which made him stumble backwards.

As Taylor approached, the victim grabbed a whiskey bottle from the night stand and threw it, hitting Taylor in the head.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

1000 Bloomfield Road, Cape Girardeau, MO