Police say a woman’s ear was almost torn off after a fight with a burglar who wanted to smoke cigarettes

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Baton Rouge police have arrested a man who allegedly nearly cut off a woman’s ear after he forced his way into several apartments asking the victim for cigarettes.

Jail records show Donald Valentine, 54, faces several charges for the fight on Saturday, Jan. 11, including attempted second-degree murder, second-degree battery, cruelty to a disabled person, three separate counts of trespassing home, unauthorized entry into an inhabited dwelling, assault on a police officer and two counts of resisting a police officer.

The incident happened just before 9:30 p.m. at an apartment complex on Convention Street.

Arrest records show that Valentine entered the apartment without permission, where he demanded to smoke a cigarette. He was reportedly told to leave and helped open the door, after which he allegedly forcibly entered the apartment while still demanding cigarettes.

He also allegedly hit the victim, who tried to ask him to leave, with a blunt object, causing a large knot in her arm and possibly a broken bone.

Valentine is also accused of following the victim, who fled to other apartments without permission, and threatening to kill the 64-year-old.

According to arrest records, Valentine picked up a large, full-size rocking chair and struck the woman in the head several times, causing possible serious head and facial injuries, as well as tearing off her ear to the point where it was barely hanging off the skin.

According to reports, when law enforcement arrived on the scene, one of the victims was holding Valentine down.

Police said Valentine was arrested after a brief struggle during which the suspect struggled while an officer tried to handcuff him and grabbed his body camera from his vest.

Authorities reported that Valentine repeatedly said he wanted to kill the victim because she made him angry.

Valentine was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail.

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