State Police assigned to the Oak Bluffs barracks traveled with Coast Guard assistance to Naushon Island early Wednesday morning to investigate a call of domestic assault and battery.
Sergeant Tom Medeiros, Martha’s Vineyard barracks commander, said State Police received a call about 2 am. He and trooper Robert Branca boarded a Coast Guard vessel sent from Woods Hole for the short trip to the largest island in the Elizabeth Islands chain. Dukes County comprises the six Vineyard towns and Gosnold, the seventh. Gosnold includes all of the Elizabeth Islands, of which the westernmost, Cuttyhunk, is the seat of town government.
State Police interviewed the victim who was also the complainant. They arrested James Arsenaeult, 25, of Nashua, New Hampshire for domestic assault and battery. The victim was his girlfriend. Sergeant Medeiros said Mr. Arsenaeult worked as a cook on the island, which is privately owned by the Naushon Trust.
Police took Mr. Arsenaeult to the Dukes County Jail in Edgartown. He was arraigned Wednesday morning in Edgartown District Court and released on personal recognizance.
“It was my first time out there,” Sergeant Medeiros said. “Everything went as well as could be expected.”