On Sunday morning, a woman showed up at the Westminster Police Department to report she had been a victim of domestic violence–the likes of which hardened, veteran police officers like Captain Pete D'Antuono have rarely seen.
"The woman came to the police department here and made a complaint indicating that she'd been held against her will for several hours at the address,” D’Antuono said. “She had sustained some obvious injuries."
According to the victim, it all started when another man texted her and she refused to let her ex-boyfriend read it.
She told police over a five-hour period beginning at 1 a.m., her ex-boyfriend, 25-year old Michael Adrian Smith, allegedly terrorized her both physically and mentally and it only grew worse every time she tried to escape.
"She alleged that she was choked, punched and suffocated over a period of time," D’Antuono said.
The victim told police she was choked up to 10 times and punched in the back of the head.
According to charging documents, Smith at times allegedly brandished a knife cutting her clothing and at one point, he held a baseball bat as if he was ready to strike her.
Police caught up with Smith two days later in the company of the victim.
"They were both in her car,” D’Antuono said. “We'd gotten a tip that he was in the area and when they arrived, they found both of them getting out of her car."
Smith is being held with no bond, and police say even if the victim isn't willing to testify against him, as a matter of policy, they won't drop the case since she suffered significant injuries.
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