MANSFIELD – The holidays were marred for one local family due to a violent incident in the early hours of Christmas morning.
Calvin Dererick Preston Jr. was indicted during the February session of the Richland County Grand Jury for felonious assault, domestic violence, disrupting public service and endangering children.
According to Assistant Prosecutor Paul Redrup, the incident occurred at 1 a.m. on Christmas Day in 2015.
“The victim reported to the police that she and the defendant had been together. She went to bed, and the defendant woke her up by punching her in the face and yelling about their child,” Redrup said. “She alleges he strangled her, and when she attempted to call 911 he grabbed her telephone and snapped it in half.
“The victim then fled the residence after she was not able to call 911.”
Redrup said the victim was holding a child during the event. He would not disclose the age of the child, and the report did not state whether the victim took the child with her when she fled.
Redrup said Preston was not located right away, but was eventually found at 112 W. Fifth St. on Jan. 9, 2016 and arrested.
Felonious assault is a second-degree felony, disrupting public service is a fourth-degree felony, while endangering children and domestic violence are both first-degree misdemeanors. Preston could face nine and a half years in prison if convicted on all charges.
In another case, Robert Lloyd Jr. was indicted for three counts of felonious assault, all of them second-degree felonies, and one count of vandalism, a fifth-degree felony. On Aug. 23, 2014, Mansfield police were called to 521 W. Sixth St. in connection with Lloyd allegedly ramming a vehicle. The victims in this case worked for a repossession company and were there to repossess Lloyd’s 2011 Nissan Ultima.
“When they asked the defendant for his keys he refused, then parked his vehicle sideways to try and thwart the repossession,” Redrup said. “At some point he got back in the vehicle, turned it towards the victims, and rammed the victims’ vehicle. All three of them were inside at the time.”
Authorities say Lloyd rammed the victims’ vehicle several times until the two vehicles became lodged together. At that point, Lloyd exited the Nissan and fled on foot. Redrup stated the report was not clear on the extent of the victims’ injuries.
“I will tell you the felonious assault charges are based on the use of a deadly weapon,” Redrup said.
In this case, the deadly weapon is Lloyd’s vehicle. If convicted and sentenced for all charges, he could face 25 years in prison.
In other news, two men were indicted as co-defendants for an incident involving a safe. Cody Allen James Moore and Ryan Scott Mosley were both charged with breaking and entering, receiving stolen property, two counts of safecracking and theft from a person in a protected class.
On Nov. 20, 2015, Mansfield Police responded to a call at 75 Bartley Ave. regarding two individuals attempting to open a safe at the rear of a garage. According to Realtor.com, a single-family home is located at this address.
“When police walked by a nearby garage adjacent to where they were responding, they saw a large safe that appeared to be pried open,” Redrup said.
Redrup stated police also encountered Moore and Mosley as well as a number of tools that appeared to be consistent with the call. At that time the two men were both arrested. If convicted and sentenced for all charges, Redrup said Moore and Mosley could face approximately six years of prison time each.
Editor’s Note: The Richland County Prosecutor’s Office has elected to no longer provide personal identifiers, such as addresses or dates of births, for those indicted by the Grand Jury.
