A Dunnellon man was out of jail for just three days before he was arrested for allegedly kicking his father during an argument about his girlfriend.
Edward Joseph Velez, 28, was charged with simple domestic battery after the incident, which happened Sunday evening at his residence on SW Plantation Street. He had been released from Marion County Jail on Nov. 14 after serving 12 days for violating pretrial release conditions on a previous domestic battery charge.
The victim told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy he and Velez got into an argument because he doesn’t want Velez’s girlfriend at the residence. He said the argument became heated, so he pulled out his phone to contact law enforcement, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The victim said Velez smacked the phone out of his hand, and when the victim tried to pick it up, Velez kicked him in the leg. The victim showed the deputy where he was hit, but there were no visible red marks or bruising, the report said.
Velez told the deputy that the victim came into his room, took some of his girlfriend’s clothing, and put it in his truck to make it look to law enforcement as though she hadn’t established residency. Velez said he and his father got into a verbal altercation but it never got physical. Velez’s girlfriend said she was in another room but could hear them arguing, according to the report.
The deputy noted he has responded to the incident location multiple times for reports of Velez battering the victim and Velez has been known to be violent in the past. Velez was charged with battering this victim in 2014 and 2019, and the victim dropped the charges each time, the report said.
Velez was taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was released Wednesday on $2,500 bond. He’s scheduled to appear in Marion County Court on Dec. 27.