Philando Castile’s Girlfriend Accused of Hammer Attack

ST. PAUL, Minn. (CN) – The Minnesota woman who live-streamed the aftermath of Philando Castile’s traffic-stop shooting death last year was arrested Friday on claims that she attacked another woman with a hammer.

Diamond "Lavish" Reynolds, of West St. Paul, was charged with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and third-degree assault causing substantial bodily harm, both felonies. She is currently being held in Ramey County jail on a $90,000 bail.

Reynolds, 27, is one of three women who have been arrested over the alleged assault. The other two women have been identified as 18-year-old Chnika Blair and 25-year-old Dyamond Richardson. All three woman were charged with assault on Friday.

Richardson reportedly told police "there was a continuing conflict between her and" a friend of the alleged victim.

According to the police report, Reynolds "specifically" threatened "to come after the victim" in a Facebook post that was published the same day of the incident.

The criminal complaint says Reynolds ran up to the 24-year-old woman in a parking lot and punched her in the head with a closed fist, before Blair grabbed the alleged victim’s hair. During the struggle, Reynolds allegedly hit the woman in the head with a hammer, knocking her to the ground.

Once on the ground, Reynolds continued to strike her in the head with the hammer, according to the complaint.

"The victim blacked out for a moment, but when she looked up she saw defendant Reynolds holding a silver hammer," the complaint states. “Defendant Reynolds then took the hammer and struck the victim’s windshield on her vehicle in an attempt to smash the window.”

Richardson then allegedly got out of another vehicle that had just pulled up to the scene and sprayed the woman with bear mace.

Reynolds, Blair and Richardson then reportedly fled the scene in two separate vehicles occupied by seven or eight people total.

When police officers located the alleged victim at Regions Hospital, she “had blood on her face that appeared to be coming from her forehead and blood on her shirt," the complaint states.

Reynolds is scheduled to appear in court Monday and is expected to plead not guilty.

KSTP reported that the Washington County Attorney’s Office will be taking over the Reynolds case because Ramsey County is prosecuting the officer involved in the Castile shooting.

Castile was shot and killed by St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez during a July 2016 traffic stop. The aftermath was live-streamed on social media by Reynolds, who was a passenger in the vehicle along with her 4-year-old daughter in the backseat.

Yanez, 28, will go on trial May 30 for charges of second-degree manslaughter and dangerous discharge of a firearm.

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