A Reddick man with more than a dozen previous arrests – including two for domestic battery and two others for simple battery – was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly reached into a vehicle and slapped a woman on the side of her head.
Nathaniel Carl Wright, 47, of NW Hwy. 225, was charged with felony battery (second or subsequent offense) after the incident, which happened around 3 a.m. outside his residence.
A pair of witnesses told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy they were in the front seats of the vehicle and the victim was in the back when Wright walked angrily towards the car and struck the victim in the head. One of the witnesses said he was unsure if Wright used an open hand but it sounded like he did, according to the sheriff’s office report.
At the time of the deputy’s arrival, Wright and the victim were inside the house. The deputy tried to contact them by banging on the doors and windows but neither would answer. More units arrived o the scene and began calling into the residence with a loudspeaker, asking Wright and the victim to exit the home. They both finally came out, the report said.
The victim said she was sitting in the back passenger-side seat of the vehicle when Wright struck her on the right side of her head near her ear. The deputy didn’t observe any bruising or swelling. The victim also said that several days ago, while she was high, she somehow fell and was struck in the nose by Wright’s heel. She said she is still in pain from that incident, according to the report.
Wright provided a description of the incident that didn’t match the other three accounts. A criminal background check revealed at least one prior conviction of battery and according to Marion County jail records, Wright was arrested on domestic battery charges in 2008 and 2009, and battery charges in 1996 and 1997. He’s also been charged with theft, DUI, leaving the scene of an accident, violating a protection order, and other offenses.
Wright was taken to the Marion County Jail, where he’s being held on $500 bond and awaits a Nov. 19 appearance in Marion County Court.