Alexander Nicholas Fanjul (Palm Beach Police Department).
Body camera footage depicts the moment police officers arrested the heir to a sugar fortune for domestic violence at his residence. According to law enforcement in Palm Beach, Florida, Alexander Nicholas Fanjul, 39, allegedly assaulted his girlfriend after a disagreement stemming from being seated near a gay couple at a restaurant.
“I’ve been f—ing framed, man,” he said on footage dated the night of Jan. 28.
Authorities largely redacted body cameras of the scene and muted portions, but an officer said he walked in on the attack.
“I went in because the door was cracked open and I heard them screaming, and he was standing over her,” the officer told a colleague.
Reportedly, during the altercation, Fanjul physically attacked his girlfriend, causing her distress. The court documents reveal that the girlfriend accused Fanjul of choking her and obstructing her breathing, leaving visible marks on her neck that matched her account of the incident.
The severity of the situation is further highlighted by the woman’s account of being kicked, thrown to the floor, and having her personal belongings forcibly taken from her during the ordeal. She was left disoriented and struggling to locate her belongings, including her purse and phone, following the alleged assault.
“I further observed the house to be in disarray upon my arrival on scene,” police wrote. “There were drops and trails of blood leading from the doorway where [the woman] stated she was dragged, all the way towards the area in the residence where I observed Fanjul standing over [the woman] when I first arrived. Additionally, I observed chairs flipped upside down onto the floor, out of place carpets, and many other miscellaneous items seemingly knocked over or thrown onto the floor.”
Several officers can be seen on the body camera standing over the handcuffed Fanjul. Asked what he wanted, he answered, “I would like to go to bed.”
Fanjul, an heir of his family’s sugar empire, was initially charged with false imprisonment, petit theft, felony battery, tampering with a witness, victim, or informant. Ultimately, he pleaded guilty on Nov. 4 to petit theft, criminal mischief, and felony battery, with the court withholding adjudication of that final charge. He is serving four years of probation.
