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Howard
Howard -
Pham
Pham
Ti Elija Howard, a 21-year-old resident of Beaumont, was formally indicted for a felony family assault offense on Nov. 29 by a Jefferson County Grand Jury. The indictment stemmed from an incident on Nov.7, during which Howard allegedly sustained a stab wound after an altercation with his girlfriend.
As outlined in the probable cause affidavit accompanying Howard’s arrest, the Beaumont Police Department received a distress call at 8:46 a.m., reporting a stabbing at an apartment located off Eastex Freeway. Upon arrival, officers discovered that Howard had already been taken to the hospital by Beaumont EMS for medical attention.
Upon interviewing Howard’s girlfriend at the scene, the witness revealed that the incident transpired earlier that morning. Allegedly, Howard woke up around 7 a.m., entered the bathroom, emerged and proceeded to throw and break a box fan. Subsequently, Howard forced the complaining witness into the restroom, where he closed and locked the door, trapping them both inside.
The girlfriend recounted her attempts to leave the bathroom to the officer, stating that Howard physically restrained her, pushed her into the bathtub and prevented her from exiting. According to the alleged victim’s account, Howard placed a washcloth in her mouth and covered her nose, depriving her of breath on multiple occasions over the course of an hour. The ordeal only concluded when someone began knocking on the front door.
Taking advantage of Howard’s distraction while answering the door, the girlfriend told the officer that she obtained a kitchen knife and stabbed him in the back, enabling her to escape the apartment. The series of events leading to the assault culminated in Howard being indicted for felony family assault charges.
In an unrelated account of local family violence, Thu Hong Pham, 44, of Port Arthur, was indicted on Nov. 29 by a Jefferson County Grand Jury on a third-degree felony charge after telling the arresting officer that she didn’t know choking her child was illegal.
As per the probable cause affidavit detailing Pham’s arrest, Officer J. Knight from the Port Arthur Police Department responded to a family violence assault at the Pham residence on Stevewood Drive during the evening of Oct. 28.
Upon arriving, Knight engaged in a conversation with the child’s father, who expressed confusion about the police presence, asserting that his wife had only been disciplining their child. The child and her mother subsequently stepped outside to speak with Knight. Upon seeing the officer, the child began sobbing and requested to speak privately away from her parents.
The child recounted to Knight that she had been involved in a motor vehicle accident earlier in the day. Upon returning home, her parents became upset with her, and her mother, upon arriving that evening, began yelling at her, declaring that she was not welcome in the house and should leave. The child disclosed that, when she later attempted to leave, her mother physically restrained her by jumping on her, using an open fist to strike her, and employing a belt to further inflict harm.
When backed against a wall, the mother reportedly escalated the assault by grabbing the child’s neck and choking her. Despite the child’s pleas that she could not breathe, her mother persisted until the child began losing consciousness, only releasing her grip then.
The child’s brother, who witnessed the incident, sought help by having a friend call the police. Physical evidence, including signs of strangulation on the child’s neck and red markings around her throat, was apparent when Knight spoke with her.
Upon questioning, Pham admitted to Knight that she was disciplining her child. She acknowledged beating her with a belt and choking her, expressing ignorance about the illegality of choking as a form of discipline.