A Richwood man could be facing as many as two decades behind bars for the alleged assault and abduction of his girlfriend and her son.
Terry Ray Gregory, 30, of Richwood, whose court-listed address is the Tri-County Regional Jail in Mechanicsburg, has been indicted on three counts of abduction and one count of felony domestic violence.
Union County Prosecutor Dave Phillips said that on the evening of June 18, Gregory and his girlfriend were at a home in the 100 block of Forest Lane in Richwood when they began arguing.
“There was some allegations of infidelity,” said Phillips.
Phillips said that during the argument, Gregory allegedly shoved the woman in a bedroom.
“He allegedly said he would kill her, that he would allegedly blow up her car,” said Phillips.
The prosecutor said Gregory held the woman and her 15-year-old son in the bedroom, “for a substantial period of time.”
At some point the argument moved into a vehicle.
“She tried to get out of the car,” Phillips said. “She tried to get out a number of times.”
He said that each time the woman tried to get out, Gregory allegedly stopped her.
“He was grabbing her, physically, to restrain her and the grabbing caused visible bruising,” Phillips said.
The pair caused a commotion to the point that a bystander saw and notified police.
“Police were dispatched, but by the time they arrived, they had left the area,” Phillips said.
The prosecutor said the woman eventually came to the Richwood Police Department to report the incident and Gregory was arrested.
Gregory is no stranger to the process. Usually, a first offense of domestic violence is charged as a misdemeanor. Once an individual has a domestic violence conviction, future allegations are charged as felonies.
Gregory has a pair of prior domestic violence convictions, one in 2008 and one in 2016, both in Franklin County. Neither conviction involved the current victim. Because of the two prior convictions, the current allegation is charged as a third degree felony.
“We always encourage people to come forward and report incidents of domestic violence,” Phillips said. Doing nothing is not a good resolution. Domestic violence is not going to just stop, it is not going to just go away. It needs to be dealt with.
Phillips said his office sees and deals with the effects of domestic violence.
“We see cases where the violence just escalates and escalates, up to and including the death of a spouse. We never, ever want to see that,” Phillips said.
He said domestic violence cases are “sometimes difficult because of the family dynamic.”
“We want to make sure the family is a safe environment,” Phillips said. “Especially when there is children involved like there is in this case, we want to protect them and women and sometimes men in the home.”
Also indicted was:
– Chantel Linger, 32, whose court-listed address is the Ohio Reformatory for Women. Linger is charged with one count of harassment with a bodily substance. According to court documents, on April 2, Linger threw a bodily substance at both a nurse and a corrections officer at the women’s prison. If convicted, Linger, who has been released, could be sent back to prison for 12 months.
– Miguel Mercado, 38, of 1928 Agler Road, Columbus. Mercado is charged with one count each of possession of heroin, possession of cocaine and aggravated possession of drugs. According to court documents, on May 27, Mercado was arrested with Fentanyl, less than a gram of heroin and less than five grams of cocaine. If convicted on all charges, Mercado could face as many as three years in prison.