An Andover man is charged with biting his 16-year-old son multiple times and hitting him with a stick during a confrontation on a Saint Paul street.
Jonathan Robert Davis, 39, is charged in Ramsey County District Court with felony domestic assault and malicious punishment of a child. An arrest warrant was issued with bail set at $40,000.
According to the criminal complaint, Saint Paul police responded to a fight on the 1000 block of Sims Avenue on March 12 around 5:15 p.m. Officers spoke with the juvenile victim, born in 2009, who said his father bit him and hit him with a stick.
READ MORE > Saint Paul coverage
The teen had fresh blood seeping through his shirt near the collarbone and a visible bleeding bite mark. He told officers his father had also bitten him on the nose and forehead.
The victim reported he had been at his girlfriend's house and left in his mother's car. Davis followed in another vehicle. When the mother parked around the corner, Davis exited his car and approached to confront the teen. The two began fighting, and the victim said his father started biting him and grabbing his neck, then hit him with a stick.
Officers documented a bite mark, injuries to his lower lip, redness and swelling on the left side of his eye, scratches on the left side of his neck, bruising at the base of his neck on the right side, a scratch on his chin and bruising and swelling near a nose piercing.
> Sign up for the MN CRIME newsletter
Davis left before police arrived, but officers reached him by phone. He said the family had been having trouble with the teen going to his girlfriend's house without permission and performing poorly in school. He learned the teen was at the girlfriend's house, drove over and saw his son in the mother's car. He said he grabbed the teen's arms to maintain control and denied any physical altercation.
When confronted about the bite mark, Davis admitted he may have bitten his son while trying to keep hold of him. He denied having any injuries himself.
Davis agreed to meet officers in person but didn't show up, the court documents say.
Malicious punishment of a child carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, or 10 years with a prior domestic assault conviction. Felony domestic assault carries a maximum of five years.
