A Leesburg man was arrested after allegedly strangling his wife while discussing divorce and breaking her phone when she tried calling police.
An officer responded to the Leesburg Police Department, located at 115 E Magnolia St., regarding a battery at 7 p.m. May 15, according to an arrest report from the LPD. The female victim told dispatch that she and her husband of three years, 30-year-old SDV, were in a verbal argument that escalated into a physical altercation at their Leesburg home.
Upon arrival, the officer met with the victim and noticed a red hand mark about an inch and a half in length on the lower left side of her neck closest to her shoulder. She was asked if the mark was from the physical incident, and she stated it was. She then showed him swelling she sustained from the incident on the trop left side of her forehead, about an inch in length, the report said.
The victim advised that she also sustained bruising on the back right side of her head, but the officer could not see it due to her thick hair. She turned around and pulled up her shirt to show the officer the back left side of her back, where he observed a red mark about five inches in length. She stated all of these injuries were caused by Valley, the report said.
The victim explained she and V had gotten into a verbal argument about possibly getting a divorce. Nothing physical happened at that time, and they separated for the day. The next day, she went to work, and upon returning home around 4:30 p.m., V confronted her by asking why she was ruining their family, the report said.
The victim told V she was unhappy in their relationship, to which he started screaming in her face. This caused their children to cry, so she took them into the master bedroom. He followed them, and she tried to further separate herself by going into the bathroom, the report said.
While in the bathroom, the victim sat on the toilet and began the process of dialing 911. She also told V that she would contact the police. At that point, he walked into the bathroom, took her phone, put both hands around her neck and strangled her for about 40 seconds, the report said.
The victim was unable to breathe and started to lose consciousness. V subsequently let go of her and walked toward the back porch with her phone. She followed him out and asked for it back, the report said.
V instead pushed the victim to the floor where he proceeded to punch her multiple times in her head. He next “smashed” her phone and walked back into the residence. The victim grabbed the keys to her vehicle along with their children and left the residence to go to her uncle’s house. She later came to the LPD to file a report, the report said.
After speaking with the victim, she was asked if V would be at the residence and if she would be willing to allow officers to search it. She said he would be there and gave them the key to her home to search for him. They then went to her residence where after knocking on the door, V came out and was arrested, the report said.
Before reading V his rights, an officer explained why he was under arrest. V spontaneously stated he was not going to say whether he did or did not attack the victim, but he did not initiate contact. The officer read his rights, and he agreed to talk about the incident, the report said.
V advised that there was a physical altercation between him and the victim. He stated he was struck first on his shoulders and face. He could not say whether it was with an open or closed fist, the report said.
The argument prior to the physical altercation stemmed from the victim cheating on V with their boss. When he threatened to call their boss, she started to hit him. He “definitely hit her back.” He also stated he was on the phone with the victim’s brother-in-law who heard the altercation, the report said.
The officer asked when the altercation led to the victim being strangled, to which V stated it happened after she hit him back. Immediately after answering, he said, “It wasn’t strangulation.” The officer asked him once more where he was struck and if he could show it, but he became argumentative, saying it was not a big deal, the report said.
V showed the officer where he was hit, but he did not see any markings or injuries, the report said. He admitted to taking the victim’s phone when questioned, but when asked why he took it, he stated, “Just because.”
Meanwhile, another officer spoke with the victim’s brother-in-law over the phone. He stated he was in Georgia but got a call from V. When he answered, he heard V tell the victim to stop hitting him. He did not see the altercation as it was only a phone call, the report said.
An officer then went to meet with the victim for further questioning at a Race Trac, located at 2115 U.S. Hwy. 441, Leesburg. She stated at no point did she strike V, and he only called her brother-in-law after he took her phone, the report said.
V was ultimately charged with battery by strangulation (domestic), simple battery (domestic) and tamper (victim/witness). He was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $8,500.
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Source: leesburg-news
