Broom Chasing, Belt Whipping Lead to Charges

A local couple of facing charges after a domestic dispute last month that resulted an alleged assault and vandalism of a bedroom door.

Charlotte Theresa Cozzocrea, 46, of Concord, was arrested at 10 p.m. on Dec. 7, 2013, and charged with simple assault (other) and on Dec. 8, 2013, for default or breach of bail conditions. Eric R. Frazier, 32, of West Swanzey, received a summons at 10:50 a.m. on Dec. 8, 2013, for criminal mischief (vandalism).

Officers were called to a domestic dispute at an apartment on North State Street. When they arrived, Cozzocrea reportedly told them that she and her boyfriend were arguing and he allegedly hit her with a broomstick and took her cellphone and broke it. The cellphone, the officer wrote, didn’t appear to be broken, but she did have a bruise on her elbow.

Cozzocrea was “very irate and was yelling over us while we spoke. She was not cooperative when we spoke to her,” the officer reported.

Frazier reportedly was in the attic of the home and an officer went up to speak with him. While doing that, Cozzocrea allegedly followed and was yelling at him. Officers requested “several times” that she return downstairs and she eventually did.

Frazier stated that the two had been fighting and he had attempted to get away from her but she allegedly kept coming after him. At one point, she allegedly kicked the chair he was sitting in, he said, and started “hitting him on the back with a leather belt she found in a bedroom,” he alleged.

Frazier then ran upstairs to the attic and Cozzocrea allegedly chased him with a broom and allegedly hit him several times with a broomstick and later, a toilet plunger. Eventually, he was able to get the broomstick away from her and he smacked it against the wall to break it “so that she could not use it as a weapon,” according to the report.

Both refused medical treatment from the fire department.

A witness reported that the two had been arguing most of the night but didn’t see any of the interaction. Another witness alleged that Cozzocrea instigated the incident and reportedly confirmed that she hit her boyfriend with the leather belt.

“During all of these interviews, Charlotte was very loud and was yelling and swearing. She did not allow me to interview any of these witnesses privately,” the officer alleged in the report.

Cozzocrea was arrested. She was released on $2,000 personal recognizance bail and is due in court on Jan. 6.

More charges the next day

At 9:40 a.m. on Dec. 8, 2013, officers were called back to the home for a report of another domestic dispute.

Cozzocrea, who was told not to be in contact with Frazier, called police to report that he kicked in her bedroom door.

According to Cozzocrea's version of events, after being released by police, she texted her roommate asking to have Frazier removed from the home, since she didn’t have a place to stay. The roommate, she reportedly told the officer, stated for her to wait five minutes, take a cab to the house, and he would be gone. She returned to the home and went to bed. 

At around 6 a.m., she received a text from Frazier telling her she needed to leave so he could get his things out of their room. Cozzocrea said she didn’t speak to Frazier during the interaction. As she headed downstairs, Frazier allegedly kicked in the door, so she left the apartment and called police.

A roommate, the police reported, said he told Cozzocrea to wait five minutes and call him back, to see if Frazier would leave. The witness said Frazier refused to leave and Cozzocrea never called him back. Since he hadn’t heard back from her, he went to bed. That morning, the roommate alleged, Cozzocrea locked her bedroom door and Frazier then reportedly kicked the door in.

The officer spoke with Frazier and he reportedly stated that he never agreed to leave the house but was planning on moving out that day when family members could pick him up. He reportedly spent the night in the attic, he said. Frazier allegedly told the officer he needed to get into their room to get items that were his, including toys he bought for his kids.

Cozzocrea was arrested on a breach of bail charge and Frazier was issued a summons for criminal mischief. He’s due in court on Jan. 13.