Crime & Safety
Apple Valley Man Charged with Strangling, Beating Brother
Police say Jonathan Anthony Sharpe challenged his victim to take a fighting stance, then punched him repeatedly and choked him.
An Apple Valley man has been charged with strangling his brother and punching him repeatedly in the face after challenging the victim to stand up and fight.
Jonathan Anthony Sharpe, 29, is charged with domestic assault by strangulation, a felony with a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. He is also charged with misdemeanor domestic assault, which has a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
According to the criminal complaint, the victim—Sharpe’s brother—came to the Apple Valley police station on the evening of Sept. 21 to report a domestic assault.
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The victim told police he had been living with Sharpe for three or four months, and that the two had gotten into an argument that turned physical when Sharpe demanded that his brother stand up and take a “fighting stance” in the living room.
The victim said Sharpe, a Golden Gloves boxer, punched him and knocked him off the couch, then told him to stand up so he could continue to punch him in the chest and sides.
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The victim said he fell to the floor, but Sharpe ordered him to stand up again, and he continued to punch his brother. Sharpe then pushed the victim onto the couch, put his hands around the victim’s neck and squeezed tightly, the complaint says.
The victim said Sharpe squeezed for about a minute and was “quietly growling” while he squeezed. He said he was unable to breathe during the assault and that his vision was beginning to blur before Sharpe released him and continued punching him.
Police noted that the victim’s right eye was swollen half-shut and that he had extensive bruising around his cheek and eyes. He also had visible bruises on his chest and his right bicep.
Police went to Sharpe’s home, arrested him and put him in the back of a squad car. Sharpe told officers that he had an “extremely emotional” argument with his brother, and that both of them were crying.
Sharpe said that during the argument, the victim came up behind him and began to choke him with an arm around his neck; he said it didn’t bother him because he thought he was just “getting out his emotions” and wasn’t trying to hurt him, according to the complaint. Sharpe said he tapped his brother’s arm and said, “That’s enough.”
Sharpe said he was seated at his computer desk when he heard the victim go into the kitchen. Shortly afterward, he said, his brother approached holding a small paring knife and took a swing at him, and that he punched the victim twice in the chest and once in the face to get him to stop, according to the complaint.
Sharpe has been released from custody on a $2,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled Dec. 18 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.
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