Domestic violence suspect flees naked down Warren Ave.

Published Date Written by David Carkhuff

A domestic violence call early Sunday morning led police officers on a pursuit of a naked man down Warren Avenue, ending with the suspect being subdued with a Taser, the Portland Police Department reported.
Jeffry Matthews, 22, was arrested and charged with domestic violence assault, a Class C felony due to previous arrests; tampering with a witness, Class C; domestic violence criminal threatening, Class D; reckless conduct, Class D; failure to submit to arrest, Class D; and two outstanding arrest warrants, one for probation revocation and the other for domestic violence assault with priors.
The incident began early Sunday morning, around 1:17 a.m., when a witness to an assault called officers to 313 Warren Ave., a single-family residence, for a report of a domestic assault, reported Portland Police Lt. Scott Pelletier.
When officers arrived, they found a female victim outside the residence with blood on her face, Pelletier said. She told officers that Matthews had assaulted her and threatened to kill her, Pelletier said. She told them that the suspect was on the second floor.
Officers went into the residence and found Matthews hiding in a closet, but when they opened the door, he bolted and dove into a second-story glass window, trying to escape, Pelletier said.
The officers, Charles Ames and Sam Turner, attempted to grab hold of Matthews as he went through the window, Pelletier noted. A fisherman by trade, Matthews was about 6 feet 1 inch tall and 180 pounds and managed to elude officers.
"They were able to grab onto what clothes he was wearing which was a pair of pants, and his weight and the fact that he was kicking and trying to break out of the officers' hold, he came out of his pants," Pelletier said. "He felt from the second-story window onto an awning and onto the ground wearing nothing but a pair of socks."
On the ground, Matthews jumped up and started running. The officers gave chase and caught up with him around 253 Warren Ave. He still refused to submit to arrest, and he would not comply with commands so Officer Ames used a Taser to subdue him, Pelletier said.
Both officers sustained minor cuts and scrapes from the broken glass on the windowsill. Matthews himself also sustained cuts and scratches, Pelletier said.
Officer Ames sustained a shoulder injury during the scuffle in the residence. He remains on light duty. The victim was treated at Maine Medical Center for facial injuries.