18-year-old arrested on suspicion of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend

COLUMBIA — An 18-year-old man was arrested Sunday morning on suspicion of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend with a rock and a piece of angle iron, Columbia police Sgt. Roger Allen said.

Derrick Victor Petty was arrested on suspicion of third-degree assault, second-degree assault, felonious restraint, unlawful use of a weapon and resisting arrest, according to a police news release. Petty was being held Sunday afternoon in Boone County Jail on $21,000 bond.

Petty’s girlfriend, a 27-year-old Columbia woman, was treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries.

Police responded at 8 a.m. to the 1000 block of North Garth Avenue after receiving reports of a disturbance and an injured female outside, according to the release. Before officers arrived on scene, there were further reports that a pregnant female had been hit in the head with a brick.

Police said Petty and the woman got into a verbal argument that turned physical. During the argument, police said, Petty fired a handgun at least once while outside of the residence. He went inside and then pulled the woman outside and “assaulted/threatened her with the use of a rock and a piece of angle iron,” the release said.

Allen said that when police arrived, Petty ran from the scene on foot for a few blocks and was taken into custody on West Sexton Road without further incident. Officers recovered several pieces of evidence, including the rock and angle iron, but the handgun was not located, he said.

The incident will be under further investigation by the Domestic Violence Unit.