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Ocala
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Sheriff’s helicopter and K-9 needed to nab domestic battery suspect in woods

Joshua W. Lee

A domestic battery victim kicked the perpetrator in the groin to get away, and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office used extra deputies, a helicopter and a K-9 unit to locate the suspect in the woods late Tuesday night.

Joshua W. Lee, 35, was charged with simple domestic battery after he was apprehended in the woods near his home on NE 49th Street in Ocala. Jail records show that he has five previous domestic/dating battery arrests dating back to 2009, as well as numerous arrests for other offenses.

The victim told deputies that when she told Lee she was going to the store, he became angry and accused her of attempting to go meet another man or get drugs. She said Lee grabbed her hair and threw her on the bed, got on top of her and put his face right in front of hers, a sheriff’s office report states.

The victim said she bit Lee’s lip and was able to get him off her. She then picked up a hair dryer, which she held up in a defensive posture, and told Lee to stay back. Lee grabbed the hair dryer and threw it to the ground. She said she then kicked him in the groin to defend herself and ran out of the room to call her mother to tell her she was frightened and to call 911, the report says.

A deputy noted the victim had a clearly visible scratch/laceration above her left breast.
Lee is being held on $2,000 bond in the Marion County Jail. He’ll answer to the simple domestic battery charge in Marion County Court on April 9.