Virginia Man Arrested, Charged With Felony Domestic Assault

VIRGINIA, Minn. – A Virginia man arrested over the weekend for fleeing police following an alleged domestic assault incident with his girlfriend has now been formally charged.

According to cour documents, 37-year-old Matthew James Jefferson has been charged with two felony counts of domestic assault, one count of domestic assault by strangulation, one count of stalking, and one count of fleeing police on foot.

The criminal complaint states officers responded to a domestic assault call on Saturday at the 200 block of Second Street South in Virginia.

The reporting party told authorities that his friend was the victim of an alleged domestic incident with Jefferson who is her boyfriend.

The victim told police that she had been in a verbal argument with Jefferson over the bedroom being untidy. She said he balled up his fist during the fight as if he was going to hit her so she told him to leave. When Jefferson left the residence out the back door, she told police she shut and locked the door behind him.

According to the complaint, the victim said Jefferson then punched through the glass on the door and broke the door down. She ran to her bedroom to escape him, but he followed her to her bedroom and allegedly hit her on the back of her head with a closed fist.

The victim was left with a bump on the back of her head. She told police he left after the attack and she was not sure where he went.

The next day at roughly 11:44 a.m. officers received another report of a domestic disturbance at the residence.

When officers arrived at the scene they found the female victim laying on the ground crying.

According to the criminal complaint, she told officers that when she arrived home she went to open her bedroom door and found it locked. While trying to open the locked door Jefferson swung the door open and proceeded to put the victim in a headlock

She told authorities that he asked her if she had called the cops on him and was pushing her head down while still holding her in a headlock.

The victim told police she almost lost consciousness during the altercation. The complaint that she told police he eventually let her go, then grabbed her cellphone, and ran out the back door.

Officers located the suspect walking on a snowmobile trail near the residence a short time later.

When the suspect noticed police he hopped the fence on the Arcelor Mittal property and fled.

After approximately three hours, officers located and arrested Jefferson. The complaint states he had multiple warrants out for his arrest.