Boots used as weapon

A man accused of strangling his girlfriend and then kicking her in the face with a steal-toed boot claims he’s innocent.

Jeramia Rael, 40, of Green River, pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in the Third District of Judge Richard Lavery to one felony count of aggravated assault and battery, one felony count of strangulation of a household member and one misdemeanor count of domestic battery. If found guilty of all three, he could face a maximum prison sentence of 20 years in prison six months in jail and a total fine of $20,750. A jury trial has been scheduled to take place Oct. 15 at 9 a.m.

According to court documents, on April 21, 2019, Green River Police officers responded to a disturbance report on East Third South. Upon arrival, officers spoke with Lynae Hall, who told them she had been assaulted by Rael. He told them she and Rael were in a dating relationship.

Officers noticed Hall was upset and crying when they arrived. The officer noticed a gash on her upper lip about half an inch long. The wound appeared to have come from her teeth puncturing her lip. The officer also noticed blood around Hall’s upper teeth and gum line and that some of her teeth had shifted from their original location. Hall told the officer Rael allegedly kicked her in the face with his steal-toed boots.

The officer also observed a cut on the top of Hall’s feet and blood on several toes of her right foot. Hall told the officer she got cuts when she was walking through broken glass and plates Rael had thrown on the ground. The officer noticed dishes and glass scattered all over the floor of the house.

The officer then spoke to Rael who was visible upset. Rael stated he had a small bite mark on his right index finger due to Hall biting him. The officer noticed the mark. He also had several other small cuts and scrapes on his hands that he claimed were from jack hammering.

The officer asked Rael numerous times what happened, but he just stated “I hurt her.” When he was asked for specifics, he said her didn’t know what had happened, but knew justice needed to be served and that’s why he called the police. The officer tried numerous times to find out what happened, but all Rael said is he came home from the was and got angry. He said he broke a chair and threw a bunch of dishes on the floor. Rael also didn’t know what bit him. Rael was then arrested for domestic battery.

Hall refused medical treatment numerous times and told the officer she was sleeping in the back bedroom when Rael came home from the bar. She was awakened to him allegedly strangling her. Hall said she had to bite Rael to get him to stop. She said once she got Rael off of her, they made their way to the kitchen where he allegedly punched her several times and then kicked her in the face. Officers noticed Rael was wearing steal-toed boots when they arrived.

Officers asked Hall if she felt pain anywhere else on her body, but she said just her face. They noticed blood on the front of her shirt and asked her to remove her jacket. After hall removed her jacket, officers noticed three scratch marks on her shoulder and back area about four to five inches long.