Man takes deal in battery

A Columbus man has admitted he committed a vicious attack on his former girlfriend while her three children were nearby.

Myles C. Crenshaw, 27, has pleaded guilty to intimidation as a Level 5 felony, as well as two counts of domestic battery as Level 6 felonies, in Bartholomew Superior Court 1.

Despite accepting a plea bargain, the Williamsburg Court resident could still receive up to 11 years in prison, as well as be ordered to pay up to $30,000 in fines, when sentenced Nov. 15 at 3:45 p.m. by Judge James Worton.

Due to an earlier conviction of domestic battery in a separate case, prosecutors are expected to seek a higher sentence for Crenshaw, court records state.

In the early morning hours of Sept. 11, 2015, Crenshaw become angry with his ex-girlfriend after she refused to pick him up and drive him where he wanted to go, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

Hours later, Crenshaw showed up at her residence while her three kids were home, and promised to take the family swimming, the affidavit stated.

But once he got the two oldest children, ages 6 and 8, distracted with video games, the woman said Crenshaw began threatening to kill her, the police account stated.

According to the mother, Crenshaw took her to a back room and repeatedly battered her, as well as burned her with a cigarette, the affidavit stated.

The oldest child told investigators he could hear his mother crying out in the next room during the ordeal, the police account stated.

When she tried to flee with her three children — including a baby fathered by Crenshaw — he threatened her life with a knife and a pair of scissors, she was quoted as saying in the affidavit.

She said it was only after her ex-boyfriend fell asleep that she grabbed her two oldest children, made her escape and contacted police, the affidavit stated.

Arrest records show Crenshaw, a former Seymour resident, was booked into the Bartholomew County Jail at 8:32 p.m. that night, where he remained in lieu of $92,500 bond.

But while Worton had issued a no-contact order immediately after Crenshaw’s arrest, jail records indicate the defendant attempted to contact the woman more than 200 times in less than two months.

In one recorded conversation dated Dec. 6, 2015, as the defendant tried to get the woman to change her story, the mother said: “I did think I was going to die and I still think I will when you get out,” the affidavit stated.

Those phone calls resulted in six additional charges of invasion of privacy filed against Crenshaw, which will likely be dropped by the judge as part of the plea bargain, according to court records.