PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Portsmouth councilman De'Andre Barnes pushed his wife into a storm door in front of police when she tried to enter their home Sunday, according to court documents obtained by News 3.
Barnes has been charged with assault and battery after the incident, which documents show stemmed from a call the councilman made to report "a black male with a gun" was trying to break into his home.
According to a criminal complaint, he later told dispatch that the people at the home were his wife of 17 years, her kids and someone else who documents do not describe in detail.
Watch previous coverage: Portsmouth councilman arrested for second time in the past month
His wife told officers she was trying to get some things out of the house after Barnes changed the locks, the complaint says. However, her ID had the Boat Street address and she still got mail sent to the home. Police then informed Barnes that there are steps he has to take to legally evict her or keep her from being in the home.
When she took a step in the door, Barnes “pushed [her] into the storm door with great force” in front of police to keep her from entering, the complaint says.
News 3 also obtained an emergency protective order that was issued, which states Barnes cannot contact his wife. The order expires on Thursday.
Watch related coverage: Warrants dropped against Portsmouth Councilmember De'Andre Barnes after arrest
This is Barnes' second arrest in the last month. He was arrested for an incident with a family member, a young girl, on Nov. 12, police say. This happened after a witness reported seeing a girl wearing a backpack screaming while being dragged and forced into a car by Barnes.
He was not charged for the November incident, as the magistrate didn’t find probable cause to charge him after reviewing evidence from police.
Barnes' tenure as a council member ends soon, as he lost his reelection bid back in November.
