Man Arrested After Wife Said He Made Her Eat Cigar

A Springdale man faces a felony charge of aggravated assault on a family member after his wife told police he made her eat a cigar after an argument about her sons from a previous relationship.

Derek Van Voast, 33, was booked into the Washington County Detention Center on Sunday evening and has not had a bond amount or court date announced, according to the Sheriff’s Department website. Van Voast also faces misdemeanor charges of third-degree domestic battery and third-degree domestic assault.

A preliminary police report said officers responded to a sandwich restaurant on Sunday afternoon, and a woman told them she and her husband had been arguing about her sons in the past few days. The woman told police Van Voast got mad because her son had taken his car without permission, and Van Voast threw a container of Thai food at her Saturday night.

She was bruised and scratched by a fork that was in the container, the report said. Officers said in the report that the woman had a four-by-three inch bruise on her elbow and a scratch.

On Sunday at approximately noon, the woman said her husband became angry because he thought her sons were using drugs and he had found a cigar in his car, the report said. The woman said her husband threatened her with a baseball bat if she did not eat the cigar, which she did out of fear and became sick, the report said.

A couple hours later Sunday, the woman told police her husband again threatened her with a bat before he began to destroy items in the couple’s home. She left the home and went to a nearby restaurant to call police, the report said.