The 38-year-old heir to one of America’s largest sugar companies was arrested last week for allegedly hitting his girlfriend in a fit of rage after allegedly becoming “furious” because they were sitting next to a gay couple at a Florida steakhouse.
Alexander “Nico” Fanjul – whose family owns and operates subsidiaries such as Florida Crystals, Domino Sugar and American Sugar Refining – was arrested in Palm Beach on January 28 after his girlfriend told authorities she thought he was going to die at their hands.
Police said they responded to his home around 11:30pm after a neighbor reported hearing a woman screaming.
When police arrived, they allegedly heard a woman yell, “Get away from me,” according to a police report.
They found Fanjul “standing over a female subject” who “was on the floor in a defensive ‘fetal’ position and was observed bleeding from the facial area.”
After separating Fanjul and the unidentified woman, he told police he had been dating Fanjul for about a year and a half, and that the two had gone out to dinner at Flagler Steakhouse in the upscale Breakers Hotel earlier that night.
Sugar heir Alexander “Nico” Fanjul, 38, was arrested last week. PALM BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT
“While having dinner, Fanjul initially became angry because the two were sitting next to a homosexual couple in the restaurant,” according to the police affidavit.
“Fanjul voiced his disappointment to [the victim] at the restaurant, getting angrier.”
The victim also allegedly said Fanjul was still ranting and raving “about his frustrations with the restaurant” when they returned home, and he told Fanjul to drop it.
“That’s when Fanjul started punching [the victim] in the face with a closed fist, causing bruising, bleeding and swelling on his face,” said the police affidavit.
He also allegedly said Fanjul “continued to knee him in the face causing severe pain, and while doing so, Fanjul forcibly removed [the victim’s] wallet from his shoulder.”
One victim told police that she had been dating Fanjul for about a year and a half, and that the two had gone out to dinner at Flagler Steakhouse in the upscale Breakers Hotel earlier that night. Sherry McKay Gray/Facebook
When the victim took out her phone to call 911, she said, Fanjul grabbed her hand and broke it and the phone fell to the ground, shattering the device.
Without her phone, the victim said, she “started screaming for help,” whereupon Fanjul allegedly “threw her to the ground and forcibly dragged her into the residence to prevent her from receiving help or escaping.”
Once inside, the victim said, Fanjul used both of his hands to choke her, and she began having extreme difficulty breathing.
Police stated in their report that they observed marks on the victim’s neck and blood stains on the floor.
When they searched Fanjul to arrest him that night, police said, they also found an envelope in his wallet containing a powdery substance believed to be cocaine.
At the restaurant, the pair allegedly sat next to a gay couple — which police said infuriated Fanjul. Sherry McKay Gray/Facebook
Fanjul was charged with strangulation, false imprisonment, robbery, harassing or harassing a victim, criminal mischief and possession of cocaine.
He was released Friday on $180,000 bail, and his attorney said he denies the charges against him, according to the Palm Beach Post.
This is not the first time Fanjul has been accused of domestic assault.
In 2013, “The Real Housewives of New York City” star Tinsley Mortimer was hospitalized for a head injury while publicly dating Fanjul.
Two police reports from 2014 also revealed Fanjul allegedly smothered Mortimer with a pillow and pushed his head into the pavement, allegations Fanjul’s wealthy family denied at the time.
Fanjul was previously accused of hitting “The Real Housewives of New York City” star Tinsley Mortimer.
Police were also called to a domestic violence incident at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Mortimer’s birthday in 2014, but he did not press charges.
Speaking about the tumultuous time, Mortimer said he had “learned” that “unfortunately it’s easier to fall into situations like [domestic abuse] than you think.”
“Once you’re stuck in a cycle like that, it’s very difficult to get out of it,” he told the Daily Mail in 2017.
“I was definitely not myself at the time and until my arrest I was able to break free from it – the cycle was broken, thank God.”
She also told People about their two-year relationship, “I have moments like I’m not going to make it. I’m going to be one of those tragic stories you see on TV.”
Fanjul did not comment to People at the time.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
