$10K bail for man who attacked woman in her home

A man arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman inside her own home is facing charges for interfering with a domestic violence report, assault and battery with domestic violence, and, disturbing the peace.

A $10,000 bail was issued for 25-year-old Berman Jr. Padock Higgins when he appeared before the Superior Court last Monday morning.

Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho ordered Higgins to appear before the court on Sept. 4, 2024 at 10am for a preliminary hearing and scheduled an arraignment on Sept. 16, 2024 at 9am. Public defense attorney Charlene Brown was appointed as defense with assistant attorney general Heather Barcinas representing the government.

During the hearing, prosecution explained the $10,000 bail was not only due to the injuries on the victim but also because Higgins had been on probation and had continually missed appearing in court for his past cases.

“The defendant is currently on probation. We have actually been trying to get him back into court for office review hearings, but he just does not know how to obey the court’s orders in coming to court. There is an affidavit to revoke his probation in those criminal cases. In addition to that, it looks like there is another petition to revoke probation in relation to traffic violations. Back in February, bench warrants have been issued for this failure to appear, and so the defendant has a record of not coming to court when he is required to do so. Based on all this, the Commonwealth would ask the court to set bail at $10,000 cash,” said Barcinas when addressing Camacho.

After the court session Higgins was remanded back to the Department of Corrections.

According to court documents, police received a report of disturbance last Aug. 24 at an apartment near Saint Jude Church.

Police officers were dispatched to the apartment and upon arrival, officers met with the victim, who appeared visibly shaken and displayed red scratches on her forehead near her left eye. The apartment was in disarray, with clothes scattered and a cabinet door on the ground. The victim requested medical attention and officers dispatched for medics to the scene.

The victim recounted that she had returned home from work around 9:48pm and encountered Higgins outside the back of her apartment. Despite ignoring him and retreating to her room, Higgins, who was reportedly intoxicated, followed her inside proceeding to bother her. The confrontation escalated as Higgins began throwing the victim’s belongings out of the closet. When the victim attempted to call the police, Higgins allegedly assaulted her, punching her multiple times on the head and attempting to take her phone away. The assault continued until she lost consciousness, after which Higgins fled the scene with two other individuals.

Medics were summoned and provided immediate care to the victim, later transporting her to the hospital for further examination.

In a subsequent development, police were dispatched back to the apartment early Sunday morning at approximately 4:42am. Upon arrival, an officer encountered Higgins walking toward the building. The officer recognized Higgins from the initial description and confirmed his identity before placing him under arrest at approximately 4:46am from there Higgins was transported to Corrections.