Louisville police arrested a man Aug. 21 after a violent altercation in a southwest Louisville apartment with a pregnant woman and 9-year-old child, court records show.
The woman later had an emergency C-section.
Desmond Potts, 31, was arrested in connection with the incident. He is facing felony charges for domestic violence, assault, unlawful imprisonment, child abuse and terroristic threatening, among others.
According to the citation, Potts was allegedly involved in a verbal fight with a woman, who was 31 weeks pregnant with twins, when he headbutted her. In response, the woman pushed him away from her, and he subsequently grabbed her and slammed her onto a couch. The woman attempted to protect her face and kick Potts away from her while he tried to punch her, the citation indicated.
While she was on the couch, the woman's 9-year-old child intervened by jumping onto Potts' back, which gave the woman enough time to get off the couch before Potts allegedly flung the child off his back.
At this point, documents show the woman told the children to get out of the apartment and began gathering her belongings. Potts allegedly took her keys and phone, pulling her back into the residence so she couldn't leave.
The citation then alleges Potts pulled a knife from his pocket and pinned the woman against a wall, holding the knife against her stomach, stating he was going to kill her and her unborn children.
The 9-year-old returned to the apartment and began arguing with Potts before he grabbed the front of the child's neck and pinned him against a wall. The woman was able to get Potts to release the child and began collecting her belongings again, the records allege.
Potts then allegedly took her keys and phone into a bedroom, and the woman followed in an attempt to retrieve them. According to the citation, the two fought over the items before Potts grabbed her, dragged her into the living room and slammed her onto the floor. The document then indicates he stood over her and "acted like he was going to strike" her.
The 9-year-old and another child came back to the apartment and the 9-year-old jumped on Potts' back again while the other child shielded the woman. After Potts got the child off his back, he allegedly grabbed the woman's leg and dragged her out of the apartment and down a few stairs, after which she saw him throwing her belongings out of the apartment.
Potts and the 9-year-old then got into another verbal altercation, the citation alleged, after which he grabbed the child by the back of the neck and pinned him against a wall again. When the woman intervened, the citation alleges Potts grabbed her shirt and pinned her against the wall with his other hand.
Once the woman was able to get Potts to release the child and get away from him, she fled from the apartment and police arrived after a neighbor called in during the sequence of events.
When the woman returned home with her children, she fainted and was taken to UofL Hospital for treatment. Police were called to the hospital to investigate.
After an assessment of the woman's injuries, it was determined that her placenta had ruptured, and she had an emergency C-section. It was also discovered that she sustained a liver laceration, and she reported back pain.
Her 9-year-old child also had complaints of neck pain. According to the citation, Potts and the woman have children in common, but the 9-year-old is not Potts' child.
Potts appeared in court the morning Aug. 22, where his bond was set at $100,000. He will next appear in court Aug. 31.
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This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Pregnant woman, kids fend off attack in southwest Louisville, records show