A 29-year-old Ocala man was arrested last week after he allegedly battered his 37-weeks-pregnant girlfriend after she told him to not to smoke a cigarette around her.
The victim came into the Ocala Police Department Oct. 30 and said her boyfriend of three years, Curtis Glenn Ragsdale, had “pinned” her and struck her repeatedly with a closed fist. She said they were at Ragsdale’s mother’s house when they got into an argument over Ragsdale wanting to smoke a cigarette and the victim not allowing him to do so for medical reasons, according to the OPD report.
The victim said Ragsdale became enraged and threw her cell phone across the front yard. She said she became angry and yelled at him, and Ragsdale “grabbed” her from behind and “pinned” her against his chest. The victim said she became immediately concerned for her unborn child, the report said.
The victim said Ragsdale released her and began to “clock” her with a closed fist twice on the back of her head. She said she took off running to an adjacent empty field, holding her injured head and crying uncontrollably. The victim said Ragsdale’s mother then came out of the house and told the couple to stop “causing a scene,” according to the report.
The victim said she used her cell phone to “fake” a call to law enforcement in an attempt to scare Ragsdale, who climbed into her blue Chrysler PT Cruiser to leave the scene to avoid law enforcement. She said when Ragsdale entered the vehicle, she got in after him in an effort to keep him from leaving, the report said.
The victim said as they were traveling down an unknown local road, Ragsdale struck her two more times in the head, then grabbed her head and forced her head down into his thigh. Ragsdale then told her they were going to go to his sister’s house so his sister could beat up the victim on his behalf, according to the report.
The victim said once at Ragsdale’s sister’s house, she and Ragsdale got out of the car and his sister tried to diffuse the situation. She said Ragsdale remained at the location a short time, “acting tough,” before ultimately leaving. The officer tried to interview Ragsdale’s sister, but she was reluctant to provide information, the report said.
The officer observed a small red mark on the victim’s neck, which she said was caused by Ragsdale. When asked whether Ragsdale knew she was pregnant, she said that although he isn’t the child’s father, he has known of the pregnancy since she found out and planned on raising the child as his own. EMS was called to evaluate the victim, but she declined their services and said she’d seek medical treatment on her own, according to the report.
Ragsdale was previously arrested in March 2018 on a simple domestic battery charge. He was charged this time with aggravated domestic battery on a pregnant victim and taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was released Nov. 1 on $1,000 bond. Ragsdale will appear in Marion County Court on Dec. 3.