Pregnant woman assaulted repeatedly while trying to stop intoxicated man from driving

A Leoma man was taken into custody in neighboring Giles County after he allegedly assaulted two women, one of whom is pregnant, slashed tires on their vehicle, and crashed his own car.

Deputies with the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department answered a call to a home on Copperas Branch Road Saturday afternoon where he spoke with two women and one male teen. The pregnant victim told deputies that the incident was sparked because she had been attempting to prevent resident Justin Wayne Estes, age 22, from driving while intoxicated.

The victim said that she was attempting to keep Estes’ keys away from him for some time. She said that three times he grabbed her by the neck, pushed her against a wall and choked her, and that he also punched her in the face. The second female intervened on the pregnant woman’s behalf and was struck and knocked to the ground. Both women sustained visible injuries.

The women reported that Estes eventually got his keys and began to leave the house. They said that he first slashed a tire on their other vehicle, then left.

Deputies report that while they were taking the victims’ statements, Estes repeatedly called and texted one of the women. He informed her that he had wrecked his car and suggested that he intended to harm himself. As a result, deputies tracked Estes’ cell phone and discovered that he was in Pulaski. They contacted deputies with the Giles County Sheriff’s Department and deputies there were able to take him into custody.

Estes was transported to the Giles/Lawrence County line and released into the custody of Lawrence County deputies. He was transported to the Lawrence County Detention Center where he was booked under charges of vandalism, simple assault, and aggravated domestic assault.