The attorney for a Mountain Home man accused of beating and threatening to kill his pregnant girlfriend entered a not guilty plea on his client’s behalf during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday.
Twenty-four-year-old Justin Rogers was arrested after the female victim of his attack contacted a Mountain Home policeman in the early morning hours of Oct. 3rd. The woman told the officer she and her children were at Rogers’ home when he is reported to have become agitated and shoved her against a wall.
The victim said while she was packing her belongings in an attempt to leave the residence, Rogers went into the kitchen and emerged carrying a large butcher’s knife. She told the officer Rogers started walking toward her saying “I’m going to kill it,” in an apparent reference to the unborn child the woman was carrying.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the victim is six months pregnant, and Rogers is the father of the unborn baby.
The victim said she was able to grab Rogers’ hand and deflected the knife away from her body. She had also been able to calm Rogers to a certain extent.
At one point during the incident, Rogers followed the victim into the bedroom of the house, grabbed her by the throat, punched her in the face and got on top of her taking her cellphone away.
The victim said Rogers threatened her with death and choked her until she passed out.
The woman said when she came to, Rogers attempted to apologize for the incident, but she told him she was leaving. She said at first Rogers would not allow her to exit the bedroom. She waited until he fell asleep and slipped out with her children, saw the Mountain Home police patrol car and reported the incident. Rogers was ordered to reappear in circuit court March 7, 2019.
He is free on $50,000 bond and has been ordered to have no contact with the victim.
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