Ledarrius Gaines has been charged with assault of a family member-impeding breath for an incident involving his live-in girlfriend of 13 years, records show.
[Ads /]
The scene unfolded at about 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 27 at an apartment complex in the 13100 block of Cutten Road. Gaines and his girlfriend were watching TV when he accused her of cheating because she was messaging another man on social media, according to court documents.
The woman stated Gaines threatened to kill her if she left their relationship. She added that the argument continued when Gaines walked into the kitchen and returned to the living room.
During the fight, Gaines allegedly placed both hands around her neck and strangled her for about five seconds. He let go of her and punched her in the face, leaving her with a lacerated chin and busted lip. She added that he picked her up and strangled her again before he threw her to the couch, where she fell facing away from him, documents read.
The woman said Gaines keeps a .22 caliber semi-automatic handgun in the kitchen cabinets and is not known to keep it on him while at the apartment. But, that night, she said he got the gun out of his pocket and placed the gun barrel to the back of her head while she wore a bonnet, according to documents.
[Ads /]
She said he fired his gun and caused a bullet to hit her skull, leaving a quarter-sized hole and burn mark in the bonnet.
After the shooting, the woman told authorities Gaines told her to put her shoes on so he could take her to the hospital. Records state that he told her it was an accident and that he was sorry. After dropping her off, Gaines left the scene.
The woman reportedly told authorities that night she thought she was going to die when he was strangling her.
When the authorities returned to the original scene at the apartment complex, they found the couple's two daughters asleep in the primary bedroom. Several .22 caliber bullets were also found at the location, according to authorities.
Anyone with information on Gaines' whereabouts is urged to contact law enforcement.