SALEM — A Peabody man is facing charges of domestic assault and larceny after allegedly biting his girlfriend several times and tossing her $800 designer handbag out the window of his truck during a fight early Sunday.
John Tracchia, 44, of 31 Rockdale Ave., Peabody, has pleaded not guilty to the charges and, through his lawyer, insisted he did not bite the woman or toss the Louis Vuitton purse, which, he said, had $300 of his own money inside.
When police arrived at the woman's apartment, alerted by firefighters at the North Street station where she had gone for help, they heard her screaming for him to "get off" and a man's voice yelling, prosecutor Jennifer Andrade said.
Inside, they found Tracchia standing over the woman, who was seated on a sofa.
She was bleeding from what police say were bite marks to her hand, and Tracchia had blood on his mouth, which he insisted came from walking into a door.
Defense lawyer Lloyd Walmsley said his client had taken the woman to a Peabody surf 'n turf dinner where, he said, she had a lot to drink. On the ride home they got into an argument, but the lawyer said she attacked him.
He suggested that the woman lost the purse.
Police searched the area where the woman said the purse was thrown, but did not find it.
The price of the purse caught the attention of Salem District Court Judge Richard Mori, who commented, "Eight hundred dollars for a pocketbook?" and shook his head.
Andrade, who pointed to a history of prior restraining orders other people had taken out against Tracchia, asked for $5,000 cash bail.
Mori set bail at $1,500 cash, which Tracchia's brother was expected to post yesterday afternoon. Tracchia was ordered to stay away from the woman while the case is pending.
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