UConn student arrested on domestic violence charges

A University of Connecticut student was charged with six criminal violations for several domestic violence incidents earlier this month.

Viquan Herring, 20, of Hartford, Connecticut was charged with first-degree criminal trespassing, disorderly conduct, second-degree assault, third-degree assault, second-degree strangulation and second-degree unlawful restraint on March 9.

Herring was arrested on an active warrant stemming from several domestic violence incidents.

On Feb. 8, a UConn student went to the UConn Police Department to file a report against her ex-boyfriend, Herring, according to a police report. During the course of the investigation, police learned there had been several physical altercations between Herring and the victim in NextGen residence hall.

The victim told police that on Oct. 10 she and Herring were having an argument which escalated to Herring punching her, the police report said. The victim left the dorm room and Herring followed her to another location and choked her there. A photo provided by the victim shows her neck with bruising and redness after this incident according to the report.

The victim told police that on Nov. 3, Herring punched her in the chest and locked her in the room. The victim said she cried for help and someone let her out to escape to the women’s bathroom. While she was in the stall, Herring hit the door several times, trapping her between the door and the stall wall, the report said.

Herring then met the victim at another location and the argument continued. The victim said she told Herring to leave multiple times, a statement that was corroborated by the victim’s roommate. After about half an hour, the roommate forced Herring to leave, the report said.

Herring and the victim had another argument which turned into a physical altercation on Nov. 8, the victim told police. Herring locked the victim in the dorm. When the victim began screaming, Herring put his hand over her mouth and told her to stop. The victim told police she bit Herring’s hand. The victim said Herring then took her hand and bit it. He then proceeded to hit her with the bristle end of a broom. The victim said she was able to escape from the room in the morning while Herring was asleep.

In a sworn statement, Herring stated that the victim hit him with his broom multiple times and that he was trying to retrieve it from her during the incident on Nov. 8. Herring said he locked the victim in the room in order to diffuse the situation. He said he did not want their peers to see her acting belligerently. Herring told police the victim had been aggressive with him on multiple occasions and that he only ever acted in self-defense.

Both the victim and Herring consented to have their cellphones searched as part of the investigation. The search of the victim’s phone revealed images of injuries including a bite mark on her chest and a cut between her fingers. These injuries were consistent with what she described in her statement to police the police report said.

Police also found texts from the victim to Herring accusing him of hitting her.

The victim told police Herring called her approximately six times on Feb. 7 trying to ask if she was dating anyone.

The warrant for Herring’s arrest was signed by Judge Prats. Herring was held on a $25,000 bond. 

The UConn Police Department has a domestic violence protocol designed to prioritize the safety of the victims. 

“We take it seriously to keep people safe and get people the resources they need to have safe relationships in their lives,” Lt. Justin Gilbert said.

Anna Zarra Aldrich is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at anna.aldrich@uconn.edu. She tweets @ZarraAnna.