City man held without bond after domestic assault

By Kathy Helms-Hughes
STAR STAFF
khughes@starhq.com

   An Elizabethton man is being held without bond in Carter County Jail following investigation into charges that he assaulted his wife.
   Robin Vines, 33, 931 Walker St., was transported to Sycamore Shoals Hospital for treatment June 11 and then airlifted shortly after 2 a.m. June 12 to Holston Valley Hospital in Kingsport by Wings Air Rescue.
   According to the originating incident report, Teddy Joseph Vines Jr., 30, husband of the victim, called 911 requesting an ambulance about 1-1/2 hours after his wife allegedly fell down the stairs at his parents' house.
   Elizabethton Police Department Ptl. Mike McIntosh was dispatched to the hospital where he spoke with Mrs. Vines, who had a severe laceration on her left forehead, blood under her fingernails and severe bruising on her arms, face and back. During questioning, she repeatedly told officers that her husband had not assaulted her.
   Upon questioning by Ptl. McIntosh, Vines said he was outside his parents' residence working on a vehicle when his mother advised him that his wife had fallen down the stairs. He said his wife had taken some prescription medication in an attempt to rid herself of a migraine, and also said that he and family members attempted to talk her into going to the hospital but that she refused.
   Vines said that when they returned home from his parents' house, Mrs. Vines became incoherent and fell off the couch, then vomited what appeared to be a very dark substance, prompting him to call 911.
   At the hospital, Ptl. McIntosh observed dried blood and a small cut on Vines' right hand, which he said happened while he was working on the vehicle. The case was turned over to domestic violence Investigator Anthony Buck.
   On Friday, after Mrs. Vines was promised safety for herself and her children, she told Detective Buck that her husband had beat her and that it actually had occurred at their residence.
   Vines' ex-wife gave the detective a written statement on Monday, stating that Vines had come to her home on Friday to see their children and during the visit, told her that he had lost control and struck Mrs. Vines several times but did not realize that he had hurt her that badly.
   At the time Vines was interviewed by Ptl. McIntosh at Sycamore Shoals, he was observed to have a cut on his hand, blood underneath his fingernails, and was wearing a ring consistent with injuries to the victim's eye.
   Investigation by Detective Buck revealed that Vines said he was working on his car when his stepson came to the back door of his parents' residence and called for him to come inside because his mother had fallen. Vines' mother also told investigators that she went to the back door and called for her son to come inside.
   Vines said he felt that his wife had hit her head on a table at the end of the stairs, however, when the detective went to photograph the scene, he found the table located to the side of the banister, out of harm's way, according to the report. There also was no blood on the carpet which would have been consistent with the victim's injuries.
   Detective Buck and Detective Ed McGee then went to the Vines' Walker Street residence where they found blood on the floor as well as a sock soaked in blood. Warrants were issued for Vines, who, detectives learned, had checked himself into Woodridge.
   On Wednesday, Ptl. McIntosh and Detective Buck responded to Woodridge and served Vines with warrants charging him with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and filing a false police report. He was transported to Carter County Jail where he also was served with a warrant charging him with violation of probation and an order of protection taken out by the victim.