ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- An Odessa man was arrested late last month after a disturbance at the Odessa Marriott. Jerome Defatte, 45, has been charged with Assault by Impeding Breath and Unlawful Restraint. 

According to an Odessa Police Department report, around 2:00 a.m. on January 27, officers responded to the Marriott hotel on E 5^th Street after a security guard called 911 and said a woman in a hotel room was screaming for help. At the scene, officers spoke with the security guard who said he’d gone to a room on the third floor to investigate a disturbance. He said when he knocked on the door, an unknown man answered and then “forcefully” pulled a woman back into the room as she was trying to run away. The suspect reportedly then slammed the door and would not speak with the security guard. 

Investigators then visited the hotel room and said they could hear muffled screams coming from inside the room. Officers knocked on the door several times before a man, later identified as Defatte, opened the door. He was detained in handcuffs while officers tended to the woman inside. 

The victim told investigators that Defatte, her boyfriend of five months, was trying to “kill” her. She said she and Defatte were in their hotel room when they began to argue. That’s when Defatte allegedly pushed the victim onto the bed and placed his hands over her nose and mouth. According to the victim, Defatte then held a pillow over her face, preventing her from breathing, which caused her to pass out. 

The woman said when she regained consciousness, she saw Defatte standing in the corner; when the victim tried to escape, she said Defatte grabbed her and dragged her back into the room. Every time she tried to scream for help, the woman said Defatte would again cover her nose and mouth. 

Investigators said they located two pillows inside the room that were covered with lipstick and makeup, consistent with the victim’s claims. Defatte was arrested and taken to the Ector County Law Enforcement Center where he was later released on a combined $22,500 bond.