Livingston County Man Accused of Assaulting Pregnant Girlfriend
Donavan Logan Buckner, an 18-year-old resident of Gregory in Livingston County, has been charged with a number of felonies, all of which stem from a single incident in which authorities are alleging that he assaulted his pregnant girlfriend.
According to court records, Buckner’s girlfriend revealed to medical personnel at a doctor’s appointment that he had held her against her will during a domestic dispute that is said to have lasted for two hours.
During this time, he allegedly hit and punched her in the face, in both cases hard enough to leave injuries. She then claims that he went on to punch her and knee her in the stomach, knowing that she was pregnant, and then tried to strangle her by grabbing her throat and squeezing his thumbs into her neck. The 20-year-old told officers that she had been afraid he would kill her at that point. She also claims that he picked up their dog, a chihuahua, and threw it more than ten feet.
When she tried to call 911 to get help, Buckner supposedly threw the phone against the wall in an effort to stop her. Then, for reasons that have not yet been made clear, Buckner allegedly forced the woman to go with him to a doctor’s appointment in Chelsea. And it was apparently there that the young woman revealed what had just happened between them.
Buckner was arrested at home and charged with a number of felonies. These include assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, assault by strangulation, interfering with electronic communications where the incident to be reported resulted in an injury, and animal cruelty. Under Michigan law, the first three charges are felonies punishable by ten years for each of the assault charges, and four years for the electronic interference charge. Animal cruelty, however, is a 93 day misdemeanor.
At his most recent court appearance, Buckner’s attorney requested that his client be allowed to undergo a psychiatric evaluation at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry. There he would be evaluated for mental competency. The court granted this request.
Buckner is currently still in the Livingston County Jail, where he is being held on a $75,000 bail, which, according to the most recent information, has not been posted.