An Eight Mile man was arrested Tuesday night after Mobile police said he strangled and assaulted a woman at the Creekside Apartments on Zeigler Boulevard.
Officers with the Mobile Police Department arrived at the apartments around 8:27 p.m. after a report of an assault at the complex. According to police reports, they encountered 20-year-old Tashawn Laffiette, of Eight Mile, who had minor injuries — cuts sustained when he was cut by a pair of scissors after physically assaulting a woman, police reports state.
Laffiette was arrested and taken to the Mobile County Metro Jail, where he was charged with third-degree domestic violence harassment, third-degree domestic violence criminal mischief, and domestic violence by strangulation.
How Alabama treats strangulation cases
The strangulation charge is the most serious of the three, and for good reason: strangulation is considered one of the most dangerous red flags in domestic violence cases. Alabama lawmakers recognized that danger in 2011, when the Legislature created the crime of domestic violence by strangulation or suffocation under Section 13A-6-138 of the criminal code. The offense is a Class B felony, a category that can carry years in prison — a far steeper consequence than the misdemeanor harassment and criminal mischief charges filed alongside it in cases like this one.
Research on domestic violence has repeatedly linked strangulation by an intimate partner to dramatically elevated risk of later lethal violence, which is why many states, Alabama among them, treat it as a felony rather than an assault of general application. The law does not require that a victim lose consciousness for a strangulation charge to apply.
The third-degree domestic violence charges Laffiette faces cover the lower-level conduct alleged that night: harassment, a misdemeanor, and criminal mischief, which covers property damage. Alabama’s domestic violence statutes grade offenses by degree based on the relationship between the parties and the seriousness of the underlying crime, with defendants charged under the domestic violence articles facing enhanced penalties and special bail and no-contact conditions compared with equivalent non-domestic offenses.
Domestic violence response in Mobile County
Incidents like Tuesday night’s are handled through a dedicated machinery in Mobile County. Arrests on domestic violence charges are mandatory under state law once officers determine probable cause that the offense occurred, and defendants booked on domestic violence charges typically appear before a judge quickly for a bond determination, often with conditions such as no-contact orders attached.
The Mobile County Metro Jail, where Laffiette was taken, processes thousands of such bookings each year. Victim advocates and prosecutors in the county work from a framework that prioritizes strangulation cases, and a strangulation arrest frequently triggers additional safety planning for the victim, including referrals to protective order services.
Anyone facing immediate danger is encouraged to call 911. Resources for domestic violence victims in the Mobile area include the national Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, which connects callers to local shelters and advocacy services.
The case ahead
As of Wednesday, Laffiette remained in the Mobile County Metro Jail. The three charges will now move through the Mobile County District Court system, where a judge will set bond and schedule an initial appearance. District attorneys’ offices in Alabama routinely consolidate domestic violence charges filed from a single incident into one prosecution, meaning the strangulation felony and the two misdemeanor counts would be resolved together if the case proceeds.
The woman police say Laffiette assaulted has not been publicly identified. Charges are accusations, and Laffiette is presumed innocent unless and until he is convicted.
The Mobile Police Department said the investigation remains active. Anyone with additional information about the incident can contact MPD or CrimeStoppers of Mobile.