By Nathan Hardin
nhardin@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Authorities have apprehended a Salisbury man they say broke into a mobile home early Monday and assaulted his ex-girlfriend and two other people with a baseball bat.
Roland Thomas Simmons, Jr. is in the Fulton County jail in Atlanta, Ga., the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office said.
According to a Sheriff’s Office report, Simmons, of 105 Yale Road, is accused of breaking into a home at 1010 Ashford Circle at about 1:45 a.m. Deputies responded after someone called 911 from inside the home and told authorities someone was attempting to break down the door.
The caller then told communications the man had broken in and the line went dead. Shortly after, a 911 operator was able to get back on the phone with the caller, who said the people in the home had been assaulted.
Pamela Janelle Cain, Wesley Morton and Timothy Finney were taken to Rowan Regional Medical Center. According to the report, the three had “obvious signs of trauma.”
Cain, 28, had a wound on the left side of her forehead. Finney, 37, had a laceration on the top of his head and 21-year-old Morton appeared to have a broken arm from the assault, the report said.
Finney told authorities he fought back and was able to get the bat from Simmons. The intruder then reportedly fled on foot. Deputies found a muddy shoe print inside the home.
Deputies said they tracked Simmons to a Mooresville home after he kicked in the door, stole a pair of car keys and drove away in one of the resident’s vehicles.
Authorities put out an all-points bulletin broadcast to other law enforcement agencies for the vehicle. Simmons was arrested in Atlanta and is awaiting extradition back to Rowan County. He is expected to be transferred later this week.
All three alleged victims identified the man who broke into 1010 Ashford Circle as Simmons and said they had known him previously.
Cain previously filed a domestic violence protection order against Simmons. Simmons and Cain were listed in the report as having the same address.
Arrest warrants were drawn for Simmons earlier this week on charges of first-degree burglary, domestic violence protection order violation with a deadly weapon, and three counts of felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious bodily injury.