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MURRAY -- An arrest warrant has now been issued for a Murray man accused of beating up his girlfriend who he thought was pregnant.
Court documents say Shaheed K. Smith struck his girlfriend in the face and the stomach during an argument on April 11. At one point, the documents say, he told the victim he wanted to "get his baby out of her."
Police say the victim had just told Smith she was pregnant. When officers arrived, they found evidence the woman had been beaten.
Smith was not booked into jail in April.
On Tuesday, Smith was charged with domestic violence assault, a class A misdemeanor and with criminal mischief, a class B misdemeanor.
"The assault, without the pregnancy would have been a class B misdemeanor, but he is charged with assaulting a pregnant person which raises it to the level of a class A," said Alicia Cook, spokeswoman for the Salt Lake County District Attorney's office.
In the case of an unborn child, Cook says prosecutors can enhance certain charges, but only under very defined circumstances.
Murray police say they can't even confirm right now whether the victim was pregnant, but that Smith still acted on the belief that she was.
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
