Niagara Gazette — LOCKPORT — The family of a 7-year-old girl who was viciously assaulted by a 28-year-old man on Monday say bath salts are to blame.
Bail was set at $1 million on Wednesday for David L. Alfonso in Lockport City Court. He has been charged with second-degree attempted murder, second-degree assault and second-degree strangulation. He pleaded not guilty and is being held at the Niagara County Jail. Alfonso has a return court date at Lockport City Court on Monday.
Police say Alfonso strangled and tried to rip the jaw off the girl. Police have not released a motive but the girl’s grandmother told Channel 4 News that Alfonso was on bath salts at the time of the attack.
“He was on some kind of drugs,” Maxine Townsend said. “I found out what he was on … bath salts.”
And Townsend isn’t the only one who thinks so, according to Channel 4 News, neighbor Brian Sullivan agrees.
“I’m quite certain that he had to be under the influence of some mind-altering drug in order to do something like that to a 7-year-old girl,” he said.
The mother of the girl told police that Alfonso attacked her daughter in the house and choked her until she was unconsciousness. He then placed his hand into her mouth and broke out teeth. He also caused an apparent tongue injury and tried to rip her jaw off.
The mother stabbed Alfonso with a butcher knife to get him to stop, according to the report.
It’s not clear how the girl escaped. She ran to her grandmother’s house on Church Street about two blocks away.
Townsend told Channel 4 News the girl had been living with her and had returned to the home Monday to gather some clothes when she was attacked by Alfonso.
“He dragged her by the head of the hair into her bedroom. Put her in front of her mirror and said, “Do you want to see how it looks when I kill you?’ “ Townsend told Channel 4.
The mother called 911 and as Patrolman Kendra DiTullio responded to the call, Alfonso, who was covered with blood, jumped on her car and began pounding on the police car, according to Police Chief Larry Eggert.
DiTullio closed the door, backed away and called for assistance. Police eventually used a Taser to subdue Alfonso.
At about the same time police were taking Alfonso into custody, police officers were approached by Castro who was armed with butcher knife. The girl’s mother explained to police that Alfonso had just tried to kill her daughter in the house.
The girl was eventually found at her grandmother’s house and told officers she had been assaulted by Alfonso. The girl was transported to Children’s Hospital for treatment of assault injuries to her neck, throat, jaw, tongue and teeth. She was listed in stable condition.
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