Police: Husband Injures Wife in Motel Fight

A woman was treated at a Gwinnett County hospital recently after an altercation with her husband at a Suwanee motel, according to police.

Robert Earl Roberts was booked into the Gwinnett Detention Center on Jan. 4 on a violation of probation charge, after the incident at a motel on Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road, according to authorities. Also, Suwanee Police obtained a warrant for aggravated battery.

The victim informed a nurse at Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville that her leg was broken during a domestic altercation at the motel, according to Suwanee Police records.

When police went to the motel, they determined that the woman and her husband had rented a room there, and obtained a key from motel officials. However, the occupant of the room initially refused to answer the door. When officers attempted to open the door, it appeared to have been barricaded from the inside.

Officers repeatedly tried to get the suspect to open the door, unsuccessfully. After about 20 minutes, the door opened, according to the report. Officers entered the room, and handcuffed the suspect. 

Officers collected "a small white rocky substance" from the floor just inside the door. However, testing did not yield a clear reading, so the substance was taken into evidence for later testing.

The injured woman told police that she returned to the room about 2:30 p.m., and said her husband "was acting very strange and paranoid." She described it as the behavior of a person who is high on crack or methamphetamine. She said she had never before seen her husband behave in that manner, the report said.

The victim said when she tried to leave the room, her husband grabbed her from behind in a bear hug, and fell to the ground, taking her with him. She then fell on her left leg and hit her knee on the door threshold, injuring her leg, the report said.

Some of the motel residents heard the commotion and came to help, the woman said. When they arrived, the suspect went in the room and closed the door, the report said. The motel residents then took the woman toward the motel office and called 911 for her.

Doctors at Gwinnett Medical Center told the victim that she had a fractured tibia, according to the report.

This information comes from Suwanee Police and the Gwinnett Sheriff's Office. It does not indicate a conviction. Questions should be directed to suwanee@patch.com.