Warren Young will remain jailed.
An Atlantic City police officer accused of brandishing his service weapon at his wife during one of several alleged domestic violence incidents was ordered held in jail Tuesday.
Warren Young, 29, is accused of three alleged attacks during separate incidents dating to January, when he allegedly held scissors to his wife’s neck.
A photograph presented to the court shows a mark on the victim’s neck, corroborating the attack, according to arguments presented during a detention hearing Tuesday afternoon.
There also was a photo showing a bruise on the woman’s arm after an argument the couple had in a car on the way to their anniversary dinner June 25.
Both of those incidents were charged on summonses.
But it when Young allegedly brandished his police-issued gun at the victim that put him in jail on a warrant.
Young pointed the gun at the woman during an argument sometime between March 1 and April 30, the victim told police in December, when all of the alleged incidents were reported.
"She did not remember the exact date," according to the affidavit of probable cause.
“How can we defend ourselves against that?” defense attorney Durann Neil asked the judge in reference to the two-month window of when the alleged incident may have happened.
“If we present evidence saying he was somewhere else April 7, she can say it was a different date,” he said.
But the judge found that prior incidents — including a temporary restraining order granted to the victim in 2020 — was enough to show a danger.
The decision came after an impassioned argument by Young’s defense attorney claiming, among other issues, a conflict of interest due to the victim’s relationships in Atlantic City.
That includes her stepfather, a captain in the Atlantic City Police Department who Neil claims dissuaded Young from filing charges against his wife.
Additionally, Garrabrant found that Young’s training as a police officer meant he understands the proper use of guns better than most.
“The defendant has been trained never to point a firearm unless justified or necessary,” she said.
The judge found that neither was the case when Young allegedly pointed the gun at the victim saying, “I won’t let you hurt me again.”
That was allegedly in reference to an incident in 2020, when the victim admitted to “slicing” Young during another domestic incident.
A summons is pending against her in that case.
She claimed it was in self-defense.
Young claims it was an attack after which his father-in-law talked him out of filing any police report against his wife.
Even after the judge made her decision, Neil continued to try to argue for his client’s release, possibly on a bracelet with home detention. But Garrabrant refused.
If more evidence comes, Garrabrant said a detention hearing could be reopened.
Young is next due in court before Garrabrant on Jan. 17.
