At one point, Dickinson County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Kristin Kass argued 41-year-old Damion Antonique-Don-Tay Sinclair’s lengthy and repetitive questioning of the reported victim was “borderline badgering.”

Sinclair, however, took issue with Kass introducing photos of the reported victim’s bruised face and neck, claiming the photos’ time stamps could have been modified and photos from the day after the incident may not be an accurate representation of her injuries.

He went as far as to show the jury police body camera footage of the woman’s interview, in which he believed her injuries looked less severe in certain frames. 

Kass contended the woman’s appearance changed with the lighting conditions, and showed the jury body camera footage of an officer taking the exact photos she submitted as evidence at the time indicated.

Sgt. Joseph Dumais of the Iron Mountain Police Department opens an evidence packet containing a cell phone that reportedly was smashed during an altercation between Damion Sinclair and a woman May 31 in Iron Mountain. (Nikki Younk/Daily News photo)

Sinclair chose to represent himself in the scheduled three-day jury trial in which he faces assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder or by strangulation, a 10-year felony; interfering with electronic communications, a two-year felony; and a habitual offender-fourth notice, which increases the maximum penalties to life and 15 years, respectively.

An Iron Mountain woman testified Tuesday she dated Sinclair for about a year and a half before breaking off the relationship early last year. The two had physical fights during this time that resulted in marks on her skin, but she said she continued to see him because she loved him. 

Although the pair broke up in January 2017, the woman said they kept in contact through May and had discussions about “rekindling” their relationship. But she said she grew upset about Sinclair’s “lies and games” and texted him May 31 to shut down the relationship. 

Under cross-examination, the woman admitted she had made threats to hurt herself both in the text messages and when Sinclair arrived at her home. She also said she had taken three over-the-counter sleeping pills.

The two started to talk upon his arrival, she said, but it escalated to a heated argument and then a physical altercation. Sinclair held her down, hit her in the left eye with a closed fist, slapped her cheeks, put his hands on her throat and squeezed until she had trouble breathing, she testified.

Sinclair reportedly told the woman at the time he was trying to “snap (her) out of it,” referring to her previous threats of harm to herself. 

When she got away and saw her injuries, she said Sinclair told her “don’t worry about it” and “we’ll clean you up.”

The woman’s phone was smashed at some point during the incident, and she testified she didn’t break it.

She then drove to a friend’s business for help and subsequently went to the police.

Sgt. Joseph Dumais of the Iron Mountain Police Department testified the woman was emotional and badly beaten when she came to the station for an interview that same evening. He took photos of her injuries, got her statement and took her smashed phone into evidence before taking her back to her house to get photos of the altercation site.

Some photos of the woman were taken the next morning to show the progression of the bruising, Dumais added.

The trial was scheduled to continue this morning with at least two more witnesses for the prosecution. Sinclair then may present witnesses or testify on his own behalf, and Kass could bring in rebuttal witnesses.