2/26/14 - A plea agreement has been reached in an incident in which a woman and her children say they were held against their will by a Howell Township man. 40-year-old Edward Joseph Stewart Jr. had been charged with unlawful imprisonment, domestic violence and 2nd degree child abuse for a February 13th incident at his home in the 2400 block of West Grand River. But in a plea deal reached this week, he entered a guilty plea to the domestic violence and 3rd degree child abuse charges in exchange for the unlawful imprisonment count being dismissed. Police say Stewart and his 28-year-old girlfriend got into an argument after she returned from work because she didnât answer his earlier call. She alleges he then began beating her before pulling her daughterâs bedroom door off of its hinges and using it to block the front door. Police say he then slammed her 12-year-old daughterâs hand in the door after she managed to kick it out of the way and they fled the house. The girlfriend then managed to flag down a sheriffâs deputy. A 7-year-old girl was also home at the time. Stewart faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in April. (JK)
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