Craighead County, AR – JonesboroRightNow.com – Court documents show that an Earle man was arrested in Craighead County for beating a pregnant woman in his car and preventing her from escaping.

On March 24, Craighead County deputies were dispatched to an apartment on County Road 716 for a domestic disturbance in progress. Deputy Ronnie Craine met with the victim, who had been in 19-year-old Mikerrion Mikelle Coppage’s car. The victim told deputies she was 10 weeks pregnant with Coppage’s child at the time of the incident, a fact she said he knew.

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According to the probable cause affidavit, the victim found a condom in Coppage’s car and accused him of cheating on her. Coppage tried to grab her phone from her, causing her to attempt to get out of the car, but he would not let her. Coppage grabbed her by her hood and punched her in the face, and while trying to get out, her hoodie and bra were pulled off, the affidavit said.

The victim said she was soon able to get out of the car and run back to her apartment. During the incident, the victim sustained injuries to her left shoulder, left eye, and also received a busted lip.

The online jail roster shows that Coppage was arrested at 1:34 a.m. March 25. On his way to the Craighead County Detention Center, Coppage admitted to hitting the victim in self-defense. While he said he believed that she was pregnant, he didn’t think the baby was his.

Coppage appeared before District Judge Tommy Fowler, who found probable cause to charge him with third-degree domestic battery involving a pregnant woman (Class B felony) and second-degree false imprisonment / interferes with another person’s liberty (Class A misdemeanor).

Coppage is being held on a $75,000 cash/surety bond and was ordered to have no contact with the victim. He is scheduled to appear again on April 23. If convicted, he faces up to 21 years in prison and fines up to $17,500.

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