Victim testifies in deputy police chief battery trial

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla.,None — Prosecutors say former Cocoa Deputy Police Chief Bobby Jones became jealous after he thought his girlfriend was sleeping with his brother.

Jones is facing battery charges for the alleged attack last December. Friday, the defense tried to blame the victim's bruises on her job as a waitress.

Prosecutors showed jurors pictures of bruising on her arms where she said she was grabbed, and on her chest where she said she was punched.  But the defense insinuated she would have much more bruising if she was actually punched.

Bobby Jones' former girlfriend told jurors she went out for a night of drinking with the then-deputy police chief and his brother before the alleged attack.

Cara Allain said the first sign of trouble came when they were leaving an after-hours club and she expressed concern they couldn't find his brother.

"He started making comments and accusing me of wanting to sleep with his brother," said Allain.

Allain said after he drove her back to her car the dispute turned violent and he punched her in the chest and throat.

"He was manhandling me and yelling at me and continuing to throw me against the car," said Allain.

But Jones' defense attorney questioned how many beers she had that night and whether she remembered everything accurately.

“Isn't it true that what you were arguing about is that you wanted to drive home and he didn't want you driving because you had been drinking?” the defense attorney asked.

“That is not true," said Allain.

A homeless man who was working for a nearby thrift shop saw the fight and tried to intervene.

"He grabbed her really hard by the hair, nape of her neck like a caveman, drug her down to the thing, dragging her on the asphalt to the car and stuffing her in the car like a bag of potatoes," the homeless man testified.

Jones' defense attorney also challenged the homeless man’s credibility, raising questions of prejudice and the man’s own problems with the law.

The judge is hoping to wrap the trial up Thursday.

Jones resigned from the police department after charges were filed. If, convicted he faces up to a year in jail.

WFTV