ROCKINGHAM — A man is facing multiple charges for allegedly assaulting a disabled woman earlier this month.
According to arrest warrants, 49-year-old David Shankar Smith unlawfully confined the victim, who is blind, from June 11-15 at a home they appear to have shared on Wiregrass Road.
Smith repeatedly hit the victim — who has a shunt implanted in her skull — in the head on June 11 and 14, according to warrants.
He also is alleged to have put both hands around her throat, applying enough pressure to where she couldn’t breathe, causing her to urinate on herself.
At least twice, Smith allegedly told the victim, “I am going to kill you.”
Smith is also accused of removing the victim’s Alexa communication device to prevent her from contacting 911.
Smith was arrested June 15 and charged with: two counts of felony assault on an individual with a disability and one felony count of assault by strangulation; two misdemeanor counts each of assault on a female and communicating threats; and one misdemeanor count each of second-degree kidnapping and interfering with emergency communication.
He is being held in the Richmond County Jail under a $250,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in district court June 27.
Online court records show Smith has pending charges in superior court of assault on an individual with a disability and habitual misdemeanor assault. The court date for those charges is Aug. 8.
Records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction show Smith was convicted of driving while impaired in 1999 and possessing stolen goods in 2005.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
