A fight between three family members resulted in two people being injured, and one man facing criminal charges.
A 31-year-old Racine man was charged by the Racine County District Attorney’s Office on Monday with a misdemeanor count of battery (domestic abuse) and a felony count of substantial battery (domestic abuse). If convicted, the man faces up to four years, three months in prison and/or fines up to $20,000.
According to the criminal complaint, Racine Police were called to a residence in the 3400 block of Erie St. on Saturday for a report of family trouble. The family members told police that the man had been diagnosed as having a bipolar disorder and schizophrenia 12 years prior to the incident and he had been on medication. The man lived with them because of his “inability to function on his own both financially and physically.” However, the man’s symptoms were getting worse and he had become more aggressive towards them.
That morning the man became upset after a family member told him not to use a fork in a pan that scratches easily. Upset, the man punched his male family member and “began trying to ‘gouge out’ his eyes,” according to the complaint.
The man then started punching and biting his male family member. Defending himself, the male family member pushed the man into a living room and near a set of stairs. The two fell halfway down the stairs and the man started biting his male family member’s finger, which required several stitches, the complaint reads.
A cash bond was set for $500. He is expected to have a preliminary hearing at 8:30 a.m. March 9 in front of Racine County Court Commissioner Alice Rudebusch.
