A man punched his ex-wife's new boyfriend in Leander, Texas, while the victim was asleep and then bit off one of his earlobes, according to an arrest affidavit released Thursday.
Robert Eric Wade III, 33, was charged with burglary of a habitation with intent to commit a felony and aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. The burglary charge is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 99 years in prison. The assault charge is a second-degree felony that can result in up to 20 years in prison.
Police were notified about the incident after Wade's ex-wife called 911 at 1:10 a.m. on July 17 to report that Wade had assaulted her boyfriend in her home in the 1100 block of South Brook Drive in Leander. A police officer who arrived at the house found the boyfriend unconscious on the bathroom floor with a "significant" amount of blood on his face, the affidavit said.
The officer, the affidavit said, saw a hole in one of the walls of the master bedroom and also noticed blood on the bed, a pillow and a wall.
Wade's ex-wife told police Wade arrived at her house uninvited, so she met with him outside, the affidavit said. It said Wade became suspicious that her new boyfriend was inside the house, so he forced his way through the front door even though his ex-wife had refused to let him enter.
Two other women who were at the home grabbed Wade to try to stop him but he was too strong for them, the affidavit said. Wade got inside the master bedroom where he attacked the boyfriend "who was sound asleep and unaware of what was taking place," according to the document.
"Robert repeatedly punched (the boyfriend) in the face and head before leaning over and biting off his left ear lobe," the affidavit said.
It said the attack lasted several seconds, until the two other women at the house were able to pull Wade off the boyfriend while Wade's ex-wife called the police. One of the two women told police that Wade shoved her into a wall near the front door and broke her eyeglasses, the affidavit said. The other woman said Wade shoved her into a bedroom wall.
The boyfriend later told a police officer at the hospital that once he realized that Wade was biting him he "quickly jumped out of bed and made his way the short distance to the master bathroom, where he lost consciousness and fell on the bathroom floor," the affidavit said.
The boyfriend later found out in the hospital that the earlobe Wade bit off could not be reattached, the affidavit said. The attack also broke one of the boyfriend's eyesockets, said the document.
Wade was being held Thursday at the Williamson County Jail with bail set at $125,000 for the two charges filed against him by the Williamson County district attorney's office. He was initially also charged with aggravated assault causing bodily injury to a family member, but court records show that the district attorney's office did not file that charge.
Wade is a resident of Austin and is homeless, according to court records.
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