James Smith Jr

Name:
Smith, James Bernard, Jr

Date of Booking:
09/06/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT

BATTERY

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

On 09/06/2026 at 0007 hours, I was dispatched to [800 BLOCK] Hidden Hollow Circle in reference to a domestic. Central advised the complainant, [REDACTED BY AGENCY], stated she had been hit by a male subject on scene.

Upon arrival in the area with SCPL Smith #144 and CPL Bethea #119, we made contact with a male, James Smith, who was walking in the road away from the residence. CPL Bethea went and made contact with [REDACTED BY AGENCY], while I spoke with Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith stated he was asleep when [REDACTED BY AGENCY] came into their bedroom and started to hit him across the face with her fists. Mr. Smith woke up from his sleep and pushed [REDACTED BY AGENCY] away from him, but she continued to hit him in the face. Mr. Smith did have slight swelling of his right eye and a small laceration on the inside of his upper lip ([REDACTED BY AGENCY]).

Mr. Smith said [REDACTED BY AGENCY] kept arguing with him about him not taking care of the dogs. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] had been drinking alcohol tonight, and would not let Mr. Smith alone. After pushing her away from him, he left the bedroom and exited the residence into the street. Mr. Smith advised that is when officers arrived on scene and spoke with him.

SCPL Smith and CPL Mercer #191 stood with [REDACTED BY AGENCY], while I went and spoke with [REDACTED BY AGENCY]. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was visibly upset and crying. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] had visible injuries to both sides of her neck (scratch marks), her left cheek (cuts that would be consistent with fingernails), left ear (red and swollen) and right jawline (small scratch) and two knots on her forehead. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated Mr. Smith and her had been arguing all evening, starting around 2100 hours. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] would not go into specific details about the argument, but mentioned Mr. Smith was accusing her of things. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was asked if she wanted to be evaluated by EMS and she declined.

[REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated during the argument, Mr. Smith had punched her and it knocked her unconscious for a brief moment. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] regained consciousness and separated herself and went in to the living room. Mr. Smith came into the living room and placed both hands around her neck, which caused [REDACTED BY AGENCY] to feel like she could not breathe. Mr. Smith finally let go of her neck after a few moments, and went into the bedroom. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated she would not hit Mr. Smith due to his body size and strength. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] would not forthcome with much more information regrading the incident because she did not want Mr. Smith to get arrested and go to jail.

I went and made contact with Mr. Smith again, after speaking with and seeing [REDACTED BY AGENCY] injuries. Mr. Smith did not change his statement that he was asleep in the bedroom when [REDACTED BY AGENCY] came into the room and began to hit him while he was asleep in the bed. I asked Mr. Smith how [REDACTED BY AGENCY] had injuries on her neck and face, and Mr. Smith stated that he did push her away off of him. I told Mr. Smith that [REDACTED BY AGENCY] had scratches along her neck, in which he replied “I might have put my hands around her neck.” but quickly tried to recant his statement. Mr. Smith then started to advise that [REDACTED BY AGENCY] caused the injuries to herself and he did not touch her besides the slight push off of him.

Due to the physical evidence and testimonial statements made by both parties, Mr. Smith was deemed the predominant aggressor and was placed under arrest for Aggravated Assault FVA (OCGA 16-5-21) and Battery FVA (16-5-23.1). Mr. Smith was placed into handcuffs (double locked and checked for fit). [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was given a case number, victim right pamphlets and instructions on how to obtain a copy of this report.

The arrest and transport of the suspect were conducted in accordance with department protocol. The suspect was searched incident to arrest. Handcuffs were applied, checked for proper fit, and double-locked to ensure safety. The suspect was then placed in the backseat of my patrol vehicle and secured with a seatbelt for transport. A search of the patrol vehicle was conducted both prior to and following the transport; no contraband was located.

[End of Narrative]