Joe_J.
March 28th, 2010, 01:57 PM
http://llnw.image.cbslocal.com/30/2010/03/26/320x240/JacobySmith.jpg
A St. Paul man has been charged with beating up a quadruple amputee. The abuse reportedly started after she was blocking his view of the television.
Jacoby Smith, 37, was charged Friday for beating up a woman and trying to stop her from calling 911.
Neighbors thought the couple that lived inside the East St. Paul apartment on Jessie Street looked out for each other. Allegations of a brutal attack early Monday morning have changed their minds.
"He would be pushing her wheelchair and helping her out. I didn't think something like this would happen," Latonya Wulff, a neighbor said.
"A few times I helped her get her wheelchair out of the snow. She was a nice woman," Darryl Dawson, a neighbor said.
All four of that woman's limbs were amputated years ago, her arms below the elbow and her legs above the knee. Just before 7 a.m. Monday, she said her boyfriend, Smith, got mad that she was in front of the television.
According to the charges, he threw her to the ground and punched her in the face more than 10 times. She tried to get to the phone to call 911 but Smith swiped it and then blocked the door.
"It's scary. Like I said, she's helpless. She couldn't fight him back," Wulff said.
The woman eventually convinced Smith to take her to this Super America to get some ice for her injuries. She said she was finally able to get some help thanks to the clerk.
When she went to pay she told the clerk to call police. When Smith heard what she was doing he left the gas station. Police haven't been able to find him since.
The woman told police she's scared. Smith has the keys to her place and her cell phone but neighbors haven't seen her either of them since it happened.
"I just hope she's safe," Wulff said.
There is a proposed law that's been introduced this legislative session that would put people like Smith behind bars for longer periods of time. It calls for steeper charges against anyone who assaults a vulnerable adult.
Anyone with information on Smith's location is asked to call St. Paul Police.http://wcco.com/local/beating.quadruple.amputee.2.1593129.html
A St. Paul man has been charged with beating up a quadruple amputee. The abuse reportedly started after she was blocking his view of the television.
Jacoby Smith, 37, was charged Friday for beating up a woman and trying to stop her from calling 911.
Neighbors thought the couple that lived inside the East St. Paul apartment on Jessie Street looked out for each other. Allegations of a brutal attack early Monday morning have changed their minds.
"He would be pushing her wheelchair and helping her out. I didn't think something like this would happen," Latonya Wulff, a neighbor said.
"A few times I helped her get her wheelchair out of the snow. She was a nice woman," Darryl Dawson, a neighbor said.
All four of that woman's limbs were amputated years ago, her arms below the elbow and her legs above the knee. Just before 7 a.m. Monday, she said her boyfriend, Smith, got mad that she was in front of the television.
According to the charges, he threw her to the ground and punched her in the face more than 10 times. She tried to get to the phone to call 911 but Smith swiped it and then blocked the door.
"It's scary. Like I said, she's helpless. She couldn't fight him back," Wulff said.
The woman eventually convinced Smith to take her to this Super America to get some ice for her injuries. She said she was finally able to get some help thanks to the clerk.
When she went to pay she told the clerk to call police. When Smith heard what she was doing he left the gas station. Police haven't been able to find him since.
The woman told police she's scared. Smith has the keys to her place and her cell phone but neighbors haven't seen her either of them since it happened.
"I just hope she's safe," Wulff said.
There is a proposed law that's been introduced this legislative session that would put people like Smith behind bars for longer periods of time. It calls for steeper charges against anyone who assaults a vulnerable adult.
Anyone with information on Smith's location is asked to call St. Paul Police.http://wcco.com/local/beating.quadruple.amputee.2.1593129.html