A Pima County man has been taken into custody following a horrible attack on his girlfriend and her teen daughter.
Kraig Clifford Lemme faces multiple charges, including three counts of domestic violence kidnapping, two counts of domestic violence aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence attempted murder and one count of domestic violence disorderly conduct.
According to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, Lemme wielded a knife and threatened the lives of his girlfriend and her daughter. Officials say the violent man had been living with his girlfriend and her two daughters, but was kicked out of the residence just days before the Aug. 13 incident.
Authorities say the incident began when Lemme became angry at his girlfriend for taking her old daughter to her driver’s license test to the MVD. Lemme was drinking and allegedly slashed his girlfriend’s neck and face during an altercation, according to the PCSD report. The eldest daughter tried to intervene, and that’s when he allegedly chased her upstairs and cut her on the face in front of her sister.
“He then held all three at knife point and took away their cell phones and put them in the toilet,” a PCSD deputy wrote in the interim complaint. “He told them they could not call the police or an ambulance.”
The older daughter was able to escape and call for help. Both women needed medical attention for their injures, and all three of the victims said Lemme has a history of violent assaults. PCSD officials confirmed previous reports exist for his violent outbursts.
According to the complaint, Lemme said authorities were “taking sides against him and he doesn’t like police.”
He is being held behind bars on a $75,000 bond.
For more information, please visit the official website of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department HERE.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline on 1-800-799-7233 or visit the official website HERE.