OKLAHOMA CITY–A disturbing domestic assault in a metro parking lot, the entire incident captured on cell phone video.
WARNING: PORTIONS OF THE VIDEO SEEN ABOVE ARE GRAPHIC
Douglas Beckham, 52, is currently in the Oklahoma County Detention Center, facing two charges of assault with a deadly weapon, and one charge of domestic assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
The woman was saved by a group of guys, visiting from out of town, who stepped in during the attack.
This crime actually took place on August 6th, near Northwest Expressway and Council Rd, but the video is only just now making the rounds online.
“When I first saw the video…I did not know the video was connected to Oklahoma or Oklahoma City,” said Capt. Paco Balderrama, with Oklahoma City Police. “I was very surprised, it`s very alarming, it`s a very sad video.”
The video opens with a woman screaming out, as a man beats her with what was later deemed a flashlight.
The woman pleads with group of guys passing by to call police, and they intervene.
“They were actually passing through on their way to El Paso, Texas,” explained Balderrama. “I mean luckily they were there.”
Douglas is heard in the video telling the group of guys to stay out of it, a request they ignore.
According to reports, the domestic assault started when Douglas refused to buy his wife food at a drive-thru.
Police say the man and wife are homeless, living out of two cars. The victim reportedly cut her leg, while breaking out of a vehicle’s window, where she then jumped into the truck’s bed.
After an argument outside the truck, Douglas attempts to speed away from the good Samaritans, with his wife stuck in the back.
But soon, the group confronts Douglas at the driver’s side door, where a fight briefly breaks out.
“We don’t advocate to the level that it went,” said Balderrama. “Call the police, let us handle it…once people are out of harms way, let the professionals handle it.”
Douglas later drives away, lurking nearby in the same parking lot, before squealing his tires and driving toward the group.
It’s then that the man behind the camera takes off, jumps into the bed of the truck, and smashes a window before Douglas flees. The suspect was arrested later in the day.
Police say the two counts of ‘assault with a deadly weapon’, are because Douglas drove his truck in a threatening way toward two witnesses.
The three counts carry a bond of $15-thousand, each.