29 year old Siamuel Stemen of Plymouth was arrested on Saturday, July 5th in the early morning hours for attempted murder a level 1 felony, strangulation a level 6 felony and criminal mischief and an A misdemeanor according to the probable cause affidavit.
The incident these charges are related to began the evening of July 4th when Siamuel Stemen and a friend joined his sister Drendalyn Ortiz and her friend to watch fireworks in LaPaz. Returning back to the home at 722 East LaPorte Street they had a recreational fire in the back yard and started drinking.
Stemen began to get aggressive and want to play fight or spar with the others. The witnesses said as the evening went on Mr. Stemen’s aggression escalated. He and his sister began to play spar inside the home but when she got a bloody nose she wanted to stop.
At that point Ortiz’s friend decided to leave because of Stemen taunting him with racial slurs. He tried to get Ortiz to leave with him but she thought she could calm Stemen down.
The play sparring escalated and Stemen kicked and kneed Ms. Ortiz. He tackled her in the kitchen, repeatedly struck her in the face and choked her with one hand.
One witness said Mr. Stemen appeared to “snap out of it,” grabbed his sister in a hug and told her he loved her. He then attempted to clean her up.
At that point Ortiz was able to run out the back door to the neighbor’s house. 9-1-1 was called and Plymouth Officer Paul Stamper and Officer Chris Miller went to the 722 East LaPorte Street address. They were given permission to enter the home and found the interior destroyed “as if a tornado had ripped through the home from the inside.” They also found a large pool of blood at the back door.
The initial search of the home located no one but a second search with the assistance of the county’s K9 Arras located Stemen hiding under a child’s bed in one of the bed rooms. He ignored officers’ commands to get up and acted like he didn’t know why officers were in the room or what was going on. Officers had to force him onto the bed and wrestled his arms behind his back to put the handcuffs on. After getting clearance from the hospital he was transported to the jail.
A criminal history report on Siamuel Stemen showed an extensive report. He has had contact with several police agencies. Briefly, he was found guilty in 2004 for battery by means of a deadly weapon, resisting law enforcement in 2007 and 2010, sexual battery by threat of force to submit in 2010 and strangulation in 2012.
Stemen is being held in the Marshal County Jail on a $100,005 cash bond.
Listeners and readers are reminded that charging information supported by an affidavit of probable cause is a mere allegation that t crime has been committed and that there is only probable cause to believe a crime has been committed. The suspect is presumed innocent throughout the proceedings and is entitled to be represented by counsel and a trial by jury at which the state is obligated to provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt before a judgment of guilt may be made.
