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Sugar heir allegedly beat girlfriend after becoming ‘irate’ that they were seated next to gay couple: cops


Sugar heir allegedly beat girlfriend after becoming ‘irate’ that they were seated next to gay couple: cops
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The 38-year-old heir to one of America’s largest sugar-producing companies was arrested last week for allegedly beating his girlfriend in a fit of rage after allegedly becoming “irate” that they were seated next to a gay couple at a Florida steakhouse.

Alexander “Nico” Fanjul — whose family owns and operates subsidiary companies like Florida Crystals, Domino Sugar and American Sugar Refining — was taken into custody in Palm Beach on Jan. 28 after his girlfriend told authorities she thought she was going to die at his hands.

Police said they responded to his home around 11:30 p.m. after a neighbor reported hearing a woman screaming.

When cops arrived, they allegedly heard a woman scream, “Get off of me,” according to a police report.

They found Fanjul “standing over a female subject” who was “on the floor in a defensive ‘fetal’ position and observed to be bleeding from the facial area.”

After separating Fanjul and the unidentified woman, she told police she had been dating Fanjul for about a year and a half, and the two had gone out to dinner at Flagler Steakhouse at the ritzy Breakers Hotel earlier that night.

Sugar heir Alexander “Nico” Fanjul, 38, was arrested last week. PALM BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT

“While at dinner, Fanjul initially became irate because the two were seated next to a homosexual couple at the restaurant,” according to the police affidavit.

“Fanjul voiced his frustration to [the victim] at the restaurant, becoming increasingly irate.”

The victim also allegedly said Fanjul was still ranting and raving “about his frustration with the restaurant” by the time they got back to his home, and she told Fanjul to drop the subject.

“That is when Fanjul began to punch [the victim] in the face with a closed fist, causing bruising, bleeding and swelling to her facial area,” the police affidavit says.

She also allegedly said Fanjul “continually kneed her in the face causing her substantial pain, and that, while doing so, Fanjul forcibly removed [the victim’s] purse from her shoulder.”

Flagler Steakhouse is pictured.

A victim told police that she had been dating Fanjul for about a year and a half, and the two had gone out to dinner at Flagler Steakhouse at the ritzy Breakers Hotel earlier that night. Sherry McKay Gray/Facebook

Nico Fanjul, Kelly Van Ingen, Bobby Leidy and Wendy Wolcott enjoy the fireworks during the Coconuts party at the Flagler Museum.

Fanjul’s family owns and operates subsidiary companies like Florida Crystals, Domino Sugar and American Sugar Refining. Palm Beach Daily News

As the victim took out her phone to call 911, she said, Fanjul grabbed her hand and smashed it and the phone on the ground, shattering the device.

Without her phone, the victim said, she “began to scream for help,” at which point Fanjul allegedly “threw her to the ground and forcibly dragged her inside of the residence to prevent her from receiving aid or escaping.”

Once inside, the victim said, Fanjul used both hands to choke her, and she started having extreme difficulty breathing.

Police noted in their report they observed marks around the victim’s neck and a trail of blood on the floor.

When they searched Fanjul to take him into custody that night, police said, they also found an envelope in his wallet containing a powdery substance that they believe to be cocaine.

Flagler Steakhouse in Palm Beach, Fl. is pictured.

At the restaurant, the couple were allegedly seated next to a gay couple — which cops say sent Fanjul into a fit of rage. Sherry McKay Gray/Facebook

Fanjul is charged with felony domestic battery for strangulation, false imprisonment, robbery, tampering with or harassing victim, criminal mischief, and possession of cocaine.

He was released Friday on $180,000 bail, and his lawyer said he denies the charges against him, according to the Palm Beach Post.

 

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