Gang member accused of whipping girlfriend for 14 hours arrested after weeks on the run
A Tacoma man brutally beat his 19-year-old girlfriend with a cord for 14 hours after discovering an old photo on social media, court records say.
Jermaine Gore Jr., a gang member nicknamed “JG,” was on the run for nearly three weeks after fleeing the apartment where he allegedly held his girlfriend against her will.
On Wednesday, he pleaded not guilty in Pierce County Superior Court to second-degree assault and was ordered held on $1 million bail.
Commissioner Sabrina Ahrens ordered Gore, 25, to stay away from the victim.
The FBI South Sound Gang Task Force, state Department of Corrections and Tacoma police arrested Gore at a Lakewood apartment Tuesday after receiving a tip on his whereabouts.
Charging papers give this account:
Gore’s girlfriend was found in a parking lot Jan. 29, dehydrated and suffering from bruises and cuts all over her body and face.
She initially told police she was robbed. Later, she admitted to doctors she’d been beaten by her boyfriend of one year.
Gore allegedly found an old picture on his girlfriend’s Snapchat account and became enraged, “so he destroyed her phone and (began) beating her and whipping her with a cord,” records state.
He allegedly choked her until she passed out.
Gore assaulted his girlfriend for 14 hours until finally relenting the following morning and allowing her to use the phone to call an ambulance. He then fled.
Police noted the victim had so much damage to her throat that she was forced to whisper.
The victim suffered multiple fractured ribs, two fractured vertebrae, a fractured eye socket, fractured finger and kidney failure.
Gore had a state Department of Corrections warrant for escape at the time of the assault and was also on community custody.
He has 13 prior felony convictions and 11 misdemeanor convictions, records show.
If convicted of assaulting his girlfriend, it will be Gore’s third strike under the state’s “three strikes” law, which could mean life in prison without parole.
This story was originally published February 14, 2019 at 10:21 AM.
