Prosecutor: ‘Someone’s going to get hurt’ if couple’s bloody battle recurs

A Columbus man left behind a bloody mess when his fight with a woman on Gazebo Way caused a picture frame to fall from a wall and shatter, leaving a cut over her eye that bled so profusely it soaked her white polo shirt, police said Wednesday in Columbus Recorder’s Court.

Maurice Cartez Taylor, 35, was in court Wednesday on charges of false imprisonment, battery, obstructing a 911 call and third-degree cruelty to children.

Police called to Gazebo Way about 2:20 a.m. Friday found the woman sitting at a kitchen table, her shirt saturated with blood. Already familiar with Taylor, whom officers en route had seen walking south on Benning Drive, they went back to find him.

They found him on Victory Drive, walking toward Levy Road, and brought him back to the apartment. He appeared intoxicated, though he told them he’d had only two beers, they said. He also told police the woman had hit herself with the picture frame.

The woman said they got into an argument during which he shoved her against a stairwell wall with so much force that it dislodged the picture, which fell and broke, leaving the deep cut over her eye.

She tried to escape the apartment, but he blocked her way, she said. Feeling dizzy from blood loss, she tried to call 911, but he took her phone away, she said.

Awakened by the commotion, her young daughter witnessed the fight, officers said.

Eventually the woman managed to get the phone back and reach a cousin, who called 911.

Police summoned an ambulance, and medics told the victim she would need stitches, but she refused transport to a hospital, officers said.

An officer testified Taylor and the woman have an “off and on” relationship that has spawned repeated disputes leading to 911 calls. Asked how often police had responded, the officer replied, “Quite a few times,” estimating he’d been called to the apartment four or five times himself.

Assistant District Attorney Matt Brown asked Judge Julius Hunter to order Taylor to stay away from the woman if he’s released on bond. If the disputes continue, “someone’s going to get hurt,” Brown said.

“Well, somebody has been hurt, apparently,” Hunter replied, agreeing to the request.

The judge set Taylor’s bonds at $2,500 each on the charges of false imprisonment, battery and child cruelty, and $1,000 for obstructing a 911 call.

This story was originally published November 22, 2017 at 4:19 PM with the headline "Prosecutor: ‘Someone’s going to get hurt’ if couple’s bloody battle recurs."