Abilene, Texas
A Ranger police officer was arrested over the weekend and now faces felony charges, including stalking and assault. According to authorities, Jonathan Blevins Matthis repeatedly punched a woman and sent her text messages threatening her with bodily harm.
The 28-year-old police officer, Matthis, was arrested Friday and charged with stalking, assault and making terroristic threats. Matthis has since been released from the Eastland County Jail on a combined bond of $105,000.
Court records lay out the timeline of abuse.
Matthis began dating the victim in February, when the woman was a senior in high school. The woman now attends Cisco College. According to an arrest warrant filed by Texas Rangers, who assisted in the investigation, Matthis worked part time for the Munday Police Department before becoming a full-time officer with the Ranger Police Department.
At the time the relationship began, Matthis lived in Arlington and worked two weekends a month for the Munday Police Department, according to court records.
The woman, whose age was not given, said the relationship became abusive, and Matthis "would shove her around and throw her on the ground," court records indicate.
The victim told Texas Rangers that she found out she was pregnant with Matthis' baby in July, and that he forced her to get an abortion, according to the criminal complaint.
The woman said Matthis was fired from the Munday Police Department as a result of rumors of an improper relationship, according to the criminal complaint.
According to the criminal complaint, the woman said the pair would have sex every weekend night that Matthis was in town to work. The relationship continued when he became employed in Ranger, she said, and the two would have sex in the Ranger Police Station when no other officers were around.
In mid-August, Matthis is alleged to have punched the woman in the face during an argument at the police station.
Another argument erupted in late August, also at the police station, according to the criminal complaint. Matthis is alleged to have pinned her against the wall by her arms and then bent over and bit her in the upper-right chest area, causing heavy bruising.
During the alleged assault, the woman said she doubled over in pain, and Matthis continued to punch her in the head and abdomen, according to the criminal complaint.
The woman suffered black eyes from the assault, according to the complaint.
After the alleged assault, the woman ended the relationship, according to the complaint, but after about a month, Matthis contacted her to continue the affair.
After she resisted, Matthis is alleged to have begun stalking her, according to the criminal complaint.
Matthis, the woman said, began sending her text messages indicating he knew where she was and was watching her.
One message said, "Baby you know I love u I only hit you because you deserve it I refuse to let u go again u can't walk out on me what u would get is a thousand times worse than a beating," according to the criminal complaint.
Matthis also sent threatening messages to a man he believed was the woman's boyfriend, court records state.
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