Police: Man in McChicken assault broke wife's nose

The man accused of throwing a McChicken sandwich at his wife reportedly broke the woman's nose during the incident, police said Thursday.

Sgt. Jason Halifax, a spokesman for the Des Moines Police department, confirmed that Marvin Tramaine Hill II, 21, did more damage than police initially thought after smashing a sandwich bun into his wife's face Tuesday afternoon. Halifax said charges against Hill will likely be amended to simple domestic assault causing bodily injury.

"It doesn't matter what instrument is used to commit the assault ... ," Halifax said. "Domestic abuse is a huge problem. The greater issue is this guy is getting angry over a sandwich."

Court records show that Hill's wife filed for a civil protective order against her husband in 2013 and the two were about to begin custody proceedings for their child, but both cases eventually were dismissed.

Hill had admitted to police that he threw the sandwich at his wife "because he doesn't like them." Hill was initially arrested for simple domestic assault.

Des Moines police met with Hill at the couple's home in the 1400 block of 13th Street. The couple have a two-year-old daughter and another child on the way. Hill told police that it was actually his wife who assaulted him.

Hill said his wife woke him up around 1 p.m. with a McChicken in hand. He admitted to police that he became upset and threw the sandwich at her, then picked up some of the bun, throwing it at her again.

The woman went to the bathroom to clean herself up but Hill followed her and began recording her using his cellphone, which he later shared with police. In the video, police saw the woman knock the phone out of his hands.

Hill's wife had mayonnaise on her shirt and face when officers located her. According to the woman, Hill had forcefully smashed the bun into her face the second time.

Police noted that the woman's nose was swollen and believed Hill was trying to entice the woman into knocking the phone out of his hands to make her appear aggressive, the report stated. The report states Hill had a scratch on his nose. Hill was arrested and his weapons permit was confiscated.

Hill bonded out of the Polk County Jail around 2 p.m. Tuesday.