BATON ROUGE: A suspect who was shot dead by police early Monday morning was wanted for brutalizing his ex-girlfriend with a sharp weapon earlier this year, cutting all fingers with one hand to the bone.
According to a court order, Vincent Harris, 51, was wanted on charges of second-degree kidnapping, attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault in the second degree, and domestic assault when Baton Rouge police came looking for him at a Tigerland department. Monday.
The document says Harris held his girlfriend captive at her home for several days, leaving her bruised, bloody and in need of surgery.
The charges date back to May 4, when Harris confronted the victim over a Facebook message he received from an ex-boyfriend. Records say Harris beat her multiple times and continued to beat her every time she tried to leave the department.
The next day, Harris attacked the victim again when he received a phone call from an unknown number. Although she told him the call was from her brother, Harris did not believe her and an argument ensued. Harris armed himself with a pistol during the confrontation and struck her again, specifically targeting parts of her body that would not be visible while wearing clothing, according to the order. Harris again refused to let the victim go and physically prevented him from reaching the door.
On May 6, the victim said Harris would not let her leave the apartment for food unless she took her nephew with her. Later that day, the two got into another discussion that eventually led Harris to hit her again and pull out a machete. She told investigators that Harris balanced the gun on his head and struck four of his fingers with the blade as he tried to protect his head with his hands.
When the police later met her in the hospital, she had stitches on four fingers, large bruises, and a golf ball-sized knot on the side of her head. Her fingers had been “cut to the bone” and she needed surgery because two nerves in her fingers were cut, the order said.
The victim told police that they had been in a relationship for five years at the time.
The arrest warrant was signed on May 6, but Harris managed to avoid police custody until Monday, July 20, when BRPD located him in Tigerland. Harris was shot after pointing a gun at officers, police chief Murphy Paul said.
