Inset: Nicholas Vincuillo (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Nicholas Vincuillo’s apartment complex in Tempe, Ariz., where he allegedly assaulted a woman (KSAZ/YouTube).
An Arizona man unleashed an “extremely vicious attack” on a woman inside his apartment — slamming her into a wall, punching her, and strangling the victim until she almost lost consciousness — after he caught her using his vape without asking, prosecutors say.
“The victim was beaten beyond recognition,” explained Maricopa County prosecutor Dawn Sauer during Nicholas Vincuillo’s bond hearing this week, according to local Fox affiliate KSAZ.
“She had 36 documented injuries to her head alone,” Sauer said. “The forensic nurse described the victim’s injuries as being in the top five worst she has ever seen.”
Vincuillo, a 32-year-old from Tempe, allegedly attacked the woman inside his apartment near Loop 101 and Rio Salado Parkway on Sunday. Court records obtained by KSAZ outline how he set upon the victim after noticing that she used his vape while he was showering, the outlet reports.
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Vincuillo is accused of grabbing the woman and slamming her repeatedly into a wall, while also punching and strangling her. He allegedly threw the victim into a bathroom, threatened her with a gun, and then forced her to “clean up the blood” as he disposed of her clothes, prosecutors say.
As the onslaught unfolded, Vincuillo allegedly called the woman a derogatory name and put the barrel of his gun on her forehead.
“This was an extremely vicious attack,” Sauer said, before describing what a responding police officer allegedly saw that day and things that the victim reported to cops.
“The defendant also indicated to the victim that he was part of an outlaw motorcycle gang and the officer advised that a previous DV [domestic violence] victim also was advised the same thing from the defendant and the officer believes that this is an attempt to threaten and intimidate the victim in this case,” Sauer explained.
The woman told police that Vincuillo allegedly forced her to take Xanax pills and was using Xanax and cocaine before the assault, as well as drinking alcohol. She was able to flee the apartment and drive to a nearby In-N-Out Burger, where she called police and was met by paramedics.
“She was strangled, she had an orbital fracture, a fracture to her left hand,” Sauer recounted.
A plastic bag containing a MacBook laptop, an iPhone, the woman’s clothing, and cleaning wipes was allegedly found by cops in a trash compactor inside Vincuillo’s apartment, according to KSAZ. Police say Vincuillo told the woman the night before the attack that she needed to “stop talking to other people” and she let him know she was seeing someone else.
Vincuillo reportedly has a previous history of domestic violence. He is facing multiple felonies, including aggravated assault and tampering with evidence. The judge overseeing his case granted Vincuillo a cash-only appearance bond in the amount of $250,000 on Tuesday, KSAZ reports.
