A Belleview man was arrested Sunday afternoon after a man called Marion County deputies to come help his sister after a violent altercation with another man.
When deputies arrived, the brother told them that 22-year-old Kenneth Wayne Curtis had left the residence after arguing with his sister, who also had left on foot to go to work. But she returned home a short time later and told him she was attacked by Curtis while walking down a nearby dirt road, a sheriff’s office report states.
The woman confirmed that story with deputies, adding that Curtis “came out of the woods and started yelling at her.” The woman told deputies she tried to get away from Curtis but he grabbed her and threw her into some bushes, the report says.
The woman told deputies that Curtis “punched her twice in the face and choked her, which restricted her breathing,” the report says. The woman added that she kicked Curtis while defending herself, which caused him to fall down on his back.
The report notes that the deputy observed swelling, redness and scratch marks around the woman’s neck; a red swollen area under her right eye and a red, swollen lip with a little bit of blood on the inside of it.
A short time later, deputies located Curtis at the Golden Oaks Mobile Home Park. He confirmed the argument and said he left but added “she is lying” when asked about the confrontation getting physical.
The deputy noted several scratch marks on Curtis’ back, “which appeared consistent with having fallen into shrubbery,” the report says.
Curtis was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail. He was charged with domestic battery by strangulation, held on $2,500 bond and scheduled to appear in a Marion County courtroom Aug. 7 at 9 a.m.