A 42-year-old Ocala man was arrested after he allegedly battered his wife, tussled with his son and smashed his wife’s cell phone during an alcohol-fueled domestic melee.
Bertram Lyde Jr. was charged with simple domestic battery and criminal mischief with $1,000 or more in property damage after the incident, which happened Sunday evening at his residence on SW 50th Circle.
Ocala Police officers responded to the home and observed Lyde outside by the front door. When asked what was going on, he said he had been involved in an altercation. Lyde appeared to be intoxicated, was slurring his speech, and had alcohol on his breath, according to the OPD report.
The victim said she had been involved in a physical altercation with Lyde. She said they’ve been married approximately 15 years, together for 24 years, and have three children in common, the report said.
The victim said Lyde had been drinking throughout the day and was intoxicated. She said at around 6 p.m., she and Lyde were involved in verbal altercation in an upstairs bedroom. She said the argument turned physical and Lyde slapped her across the left side of her face, according to the report.
The victim said Lyde continued by pushing her into furniture in the bedroom and shoving her to the ground. She said she was trying to hit Lyde back to defend herself and get away from him. She said the fight continued downstairs and Lyde took her cell phone and threw it against the front door, causing it to break, the report said.
The victim said she tried to get away from Lyde by walking into the kitchen, then into the garage, but Lyde continued to follow her and shove her before going outside to drink some more with his friends. He then left the residence in a vehicle, according to the report.
The victim said while Lyde was gone, she contacted her oldest son, who was visiting friends in Gainesville. She said she told him what happened and he drove to the incident location, arriving at around 8 p.m. Lyde returned to the location at around 9 p.m. but didn’t come inside until approximately 10 p.m., the report said.
The victim said when Lyde came inside, he began to provoke and agitate her son in the same bedroom where the prior altercation occurred. She said Lyde tried to punch her son but missed, and then they began to tussle and wrestle on the ground. She said while they were tussling, she tried to separate them. The victim said her son told her to let go of Lyde and he did, too. She said Lyde and her son both went downstairs and police arrived shortly thereafter, according to the report.
The victim’s son gave a statement consistent with the victim’s. He said after he went downstairs, he retrieved a knife from the kitchen and told Lyde to leave. The victim’s son said he didn’t get the knife to threaten Lyde, but did so out of fear that Lyde was going to retrieve his firearm after saying, “I’ll show you.” He said he stayed away from Lyde and called police to report the incident, the report said.
Another son said he witnessed the altercation between the victim and Lyde. He said he was getting ready to take a shower when he heard arguing coming from his parents’ bedroom. He said when he went in to investigate, he saw Lyde kicking the victim while she was lying on the floor, according to the report.
A deputy observed the victim had visible injuries including a large abrasion on her right elbow, a small scratch on the back of her right hand, and a small scrape on her right knee. The victim’s oldest son didn’t have any visible injuries, the report said.
The deputy also observed the victim’s gold iPhone 10 – which she said was valued at approximately $1,000 – was smashed. A black iPhone with a black case was also broken. The victim said it belonged to Lyde, who he had broken his own phone, according to the report.
Lyde told the deputy he was involved in a verbal altercation with his wife but nothing physical occurred. He further said his son had tackled him, which led to the physical altercation. The deputy observed a small tear with dirt on the front of Lyde’s shirt. He also had a small skin tear on the back of his hand, the report said.
Lyde was taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was released the next day on $3,000 bond. He’ll appear in Marion County Jail on Nov. 19.