A Hot Springs woman was arrested Tuesday on a felony battery warrant stemming from allegations she assaulted her 61-year-old mother in September, causing broken vertebra in her back and other injuries.
Jennifer M. Shockley-Cernat, 41, who lists a Cindy Street address, was taken into custody at the police department shortly before 3:30 p.m. and charged with second-degree battery, punishable by up to six years in prison.
Shockley-Cernat was later released on a $5,000 bond and is set to appear Dec. 3 in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Sept. 9, shortly after 11 a.m., Hot Springs police responded to CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs regarding a battery and spoke to the victim who had been admitted on Sept. 3 for injuries she sustained in an incident two days earlier.
The victim said that on that day, shortly after 9:30 a.m., she and her daughter, identified as Shockley-Cernat, got into a fight at the residence they were sharing then on Lily Ruth Court. She noted her daughter had been drinking when the two began arguing over medical problems.
The altercation quickly turned physical and Shockley-Cernat allegedly picked up a standing fan and hit the victim with it about four times. She said she attempted to block the blows with her left arm, but still suffered injuries.
The affidavit notes her injuries consisted of a knot on her forehead, bruises on her left arm, a fractured pinkie finger and bruised right shoulder from the beating with the fan.
Shockley-Cernat then allegedly pushed the victim down causing two broken vertebra in her back, it states. After further investigation by Detective Mark Fallis, a warrant for Shockley-Cernat's arrest was issued on Oct. 2.
A petition for an order of protection filed by the victim on Oct. 31 provided more details of the Sept. 1 incident. She wrote that after her daughter hit her "over and over" with the tall floor fan she attempted to escape, but then her daughter grabbed a yard stake and "came towards me and threatened to stab me with it."
The victim said she was "frozen from fright" when her daughter shoved her backward causing her to land on her tailbone, sustaining the injuries to the back. She said she was "held captive against my will" for nearly three days in "severe pain" before Shockley-Cernat's husband finally took her to the hospital.
The victim noted she has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder "due to the level of abuse endured from my daughter" and was in fear for her life if she was around her again.
Local on 11/21/2019