Family gatherings are part of the Thanksgiving Day tradition, but police on St. Croix were called to a home where family and friends gathered to break up a fight between family members.
Aaron Sampson was arrested after the alleged victim — his son — and witnesses said he threw punches and picked up a weapon in the middle of a quarrel.
Documents filed in Superior Court say police responded to a home outside of Frederiksted where they met a man who said his father started a fight with him. The alleged victim gave a statement and produced a video recording of the incident. In the recording, the accused “is observed running up to (the victim) and he then throws a punch and the video cuts off,” the police report said.
The responding officer added that when the accused assailant was approached to get his side of the story, “he started to curse.” The officer said they also observed that he was drinking as the conversation began and had a heavy scent of alcohol on his breath.
Witnesses said the altercation began as Sampson was in the process of throwing the victim’s clothing out of the house. At the time the father was demanding that the son leave the family home.
A witness who helped break up the fight also told authorities that at one point, the father picked up a machete and tried to charge towards the victim; he was quickly stopped and disarmed, the witness said.
Sampson was charged with assault, disturbance of the peace, and possessing a deadly weapon while committing violence. He appeared at an advice of rights hearing before Magistrate Judge Venetia Velazquez on Friday.
