On June 11, 2015, at 9:59 p.m., Vinton Police officers, assisted by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, responded to a 911 call reporting a possible domestic assault and a male subject in a “rage” and breaking things at 820 E. 4th Street in Vinton.
Once on scene, officers learned that the male resident, Joshua Carl Hendryx, 34 years old, had committed a domestic assault involving injury on an adult female. The female had sustained abrasions, bruises, and scratches to her head and torso from being punched, choked, and thrown against the wall and furniture.
Hendryx had shut himself in the residence alone with their two children, ages 5 years old and 20 months. Hendryx refused to speak to officers, allow the children to exit the house, or to allow officers to enter. The 5 year old child was able to escape from the residence unharmed and officers made entry. Hendryx held the 20 month old child in his arms in an apparent attempt to shield himself from officers.
Officers attempted to place Hendryx under arrest for domestic assault but he refused to put down the child and be taken into custody. Officers tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with Hendryx who remained highly agitated despite officers’ efforts to calm him down and he ignored repeated requests to hand the child to officers or other family members.
Eventually, officers were forced to try and physically control Hendryx while simultaneously trying to remove the 20 month old child from the dangerous situation. Unfortunately, Hendryx began to fight officers forcing them to deploy a TASER. The TASER was deployed from a distance of approximately one foot or less and from an angle away from the child in an attempt to avoid striking the child. However, Hendryx’s resistance suddenly placed the child in the path of one of the TASER probes that were fired at him. Three probes made contact with Hendryx but one probe struck the child in the left foot during the brief but violent and fluid struggle.
Officers were able to successfully remove the child from the danger and take Hendryx into custody. Hendryx was transported to the Benton County Jail. The child was treated at Virginia Gay Hospital and then transferred to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics where the probe was successfully removed without apparent complication or other signs of injury. This case was referred to the Iowa Department of Human Services.
Hendryx has been charged with the following;
1) Domestic Abuse Assault (Class D Felony), sections 708.1(2)(a) / 708.2A(5) / 236.2
2) Child Endangerment Causing Injury (Class D Felony), sections 726.6(1)(a) / 726.6(5)
3) Interference with Official Acts (Simple Misdemeanor), section 719.1(1)
An arrest or criminal charge is merely an accusation and the defendant(s) is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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My reasoning is this: from what the article described, the man was beating up on the woman in question quite badly. Having said this, I cannot imagine she was not trying to get away from him whether it was to find some semblance of safety, or to go and get help. I also do not believe he wasn’t attempting to prevent her from leaving the home in order to get away or to get help.
His attempts to keep her from leaving places yet another crime on his head, because he has technically committed yet another Class D Felony Kidnapping; perhaps I\'m merciless but I am inclined to throw that third charge of kidnapping at him (or anyone else who does the same), because if a person is as violent as he was described as being, then they need to be locked up *without* the requirement of charges being pressed by the victim.
Laws for domestic abuse and or assault need to be changed in the State of Iowa and federally, to become more stringent so it will protect others from a repeat performance (by the offender) on some other unsuspecting innocent individual.
In the articles I have read I have not read that the toddler received a shock.
Having friends and relatives in law enforcement I know that domestic calls are very dangerous.
710.1 KIDNAPPING DEFINED.
A person commits kidnapping when the person either confines a person or removes a person from one place to another, knowing that the person who confines or removes the other person has neither the authority nor the consent of the other to do so; provided, that to constitute kidnapping the act must be accompanied by one or more of the following:
1. The intent to hold such person for ransom.
2. The intent to use such person as a shield or hostage.
3. The intent to inflict serious injury upon such person, or to subject the person to a sexual abuse.
4. The intent to secretly confine such person.
5. The intent to interfere with the performance of any government function.
710.4 KIDNAPPING IN THE THIRD DEGREE.
All other kidnappings are kidnappings in the third degree. Kidnapping in the third degree is a class \"C\" felony.
For purposes of determining whether the person should register as a sex offender pursuant to the provisions of chapter 692A, the fact finder shall make a determination as provided in section 692A.126.
804.12 USE OF FORCE IN RESISTING ARREST.
A person is not authorized to use force to resist an arrest, either of the person\'s self, or another which the person knows is being made either by a peace officer or by a private person summoned and directed by a peace officer to make the arrest, even if the person believes that the arrest is unlawful or the arrest is in fact unlawful.
804.15 BREAKING AND ENTERING PREMISES -- DEMAND TO ENTER.
If a law enforcement officer has reasonable cause to believe that a person whom the officer is authorized to arrest is present on any private premises, the officer may upon identifying the officer as such, demand that the officer be admitted to such premises for the purpose of making the arrest. If such demand is not promptly complied with, the officer may thereupon enter such premises to make the arrest, using such force as is reasonably necessary.
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Perhaps I am wrong but a Class C felony appears to be worse than that of a Class D? Either way, if the circumstances of the arrest went down exactly as described in this newspapers\' account, then, I am of the same opinion. There should have been more strenuous charges placed against this man at the time of arrest. Including but not limited to 2 charges (one for each child held) of Kidnapping in the Third Degree and 2 charges of resisting arrest - the first for blockading himself in the house to keep from being arrested and the second for using the child as a human shield to prevent his arrest. Additionally, Here are two more Iowa Laws, which when looked at in view of the crimes this man committed, might also apply:
708.2C ASSAULT IN VIOLATION OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS -- PENALTIES.
1. For the purposes of this chapter, \"assault in violation of individual rights\" means an assault, as defined in section 708.1, which is a hate crime as defined in section 729A.2.
2. A person who commits an assault in violation of individual rights, with the intent to inflict a serious injury upon another, is guilty of a class \"D\" felony.
3. A person who commits an assault in violation of individual rights, and who causes bodily injury or mental illness, is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor.
4. A person who commits an assault in violation of individual rights and uses or displays a dangerous weapon in connection with the assault, is guilty of a class \"D\" felony.
5. Any other assault in violation of individual rights, except as otherwise provided, is a serious misdemeanor.
708.3 ASSAULT WHILE PARTICIPATING IN A FELONY.
Any person who commits an assault as defined in section 708.1 while participating in a felony other than a sexual abuse is guilty of a class \"C\" felony if the person thereby causes serious injury to any person; if no serious injury results, the person is guilty of a class \"D\" felony.
***
Finally, and because I\'m feeling rather generous right now and not a little disparaging towards this kidnapper, I would also give precedence to charging him with war crimes (even though it would be stretching it to do so) and I give you this as my example:
We are still at war; we have troops overseas and watching our borders for terrorists and the like. So, taking into consideration \"the Fourth Geneva Convention (with respect to protected civilians) and Additional Protocol I (with respect to civilians in general).[1] Under the Statute of the International Criminal Court, “utilizing the presence of a civilian or other protected person to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military operations” constitutes a war crime in international armed conflicts.\" the fact that under no circumstances may any civilian or military personnel use a human shield for any purpose during a conflict - I would say that this man is in the wrong under this particular guideline even. Since, his resisting arrest and use of a human shield took place during an armed conflict. Whether or not the kidnapper himself had a fire arm; which, to my understanding the article above doesn\'t make the statement that he had a fire arm is moot, the police officers did have fire arms and I highly doubt they did not have them out of their holsters at some point during this scene.
So I\'m all for throwing on some International charges at him (since under Federal Law the kidnapper has to have crossed the State boundaries to be charged Federally for Kidnapping) as long as we are adding charges to his list. No, I\'m not being sarcastic, perhaps I am being a little bit overboard, but it time we start making criminals into examples of how our justice system really works to punish those who break the laws and how it is supposed to protect the innocent in our society.
Let’s hope the D.A. throws the book at him!
I hope to God that the mother and him don\'t patch it up like so many of these cases! He\'s obviously got some very dangerous tendencies and next time the situation could end way worse!