An Ocala man is in the Marion County Jail after he allegedly battered, choked and tried to run over a woman with his vehicle during a nasty domestic spat on Sunday night.
Luis Antonio Lemus, 21, was charged with domestic battery by strangulation, simple battery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and violating his probation for a previous conviction for carrying a concealed firearm.
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy responded to a 911 call during which the victim was hysterical and heard yelling, “Get away from me,” and “Get someone here.” At the incident location, the victim told the deputy she and Lemus had been in a verbal altercation due to him yelling at another person, whose name was redacted in the sheriff’s office report.
The victim said she told Lemus not to talk to the other person like that and that he needed to pack his belongings and leave or the night. She said she went inside the residence and started packing Lemus’ clothes for him to leave, the report said.
The victim said Lemus came into the bedroom and she threw a pair of his boxers. She said he then grabbed her by the neck with both hands, threw her up against the bedroom wall and started choking her. The victim said she was able to strike Lemus in the face in an effort to get him to let go of her throat because she was unable to breathe, according to the report.
The victim said Lemus punched her in the head, picked her up by her throat and threw her on the bedroom floor, and continued to choke her. She said he then got up and started kicking and hitting her. The victim’s father, who was underneath the house fixing the air conditioning, heard the commotion, came inside and pulled Lemus off the victim, the report said.
The victim said Lemus then got in his truck and peeled out of the yard, stopping in front of the residence. The victim said she went outside to get her keys because Lemus had taken them. She said Lemus then revved the truck and turned around, running over the neighbor’s driveway, and tried to run her over with the truck. The victim said she had to run for her life, back into her yard, after Lemus almost ran her over, according to the report.
The victim’s father said he was under the house, fixing the AC ducts, when he heard the victim and Lemus arguing. He said he then heard a loud bang and the victim screaming, “stop hitting me!” and “get off me!” The victim’s father said he ran inside and saw the victim laying on her back, with Lemus kicking her in the left side of her abdominal area, the report said.
Another deputy found Lemus at a nearby gas station and brought him back to the incident location. Lemus said he and the victim were engaged in a verbal altercation over him yelling at the other person. He said the victim went inside and started packing his clothes for him to leave, according to the report.
Lemus said he went to grab a Sony PlayStation and the victim struck him in the face. He said he then pushed the victim and they started to fight. Lemus was hesitant and wouldn’t go into detail about the physical altercation. He said he then left the location in his truck to separate himself from the situation, the report said.
The deputy questioned Lemus about the tire tracks, which lead out of the driveway and then turn back and head straight towards the entrance of the driveway. Lemus was again hesitant and then said he turned around due to the victim chasing the truck out of the yard, but he said he didn’t try to run her over, according to the report.
The victim’s neck had a small scratch on the left side, underneath her ear, and a small red mark on the right side of her neck, just below her jaw line. Outside the residence, the deputy observed fresh tire skid marks leading out of the yard, down the street, and then turning around abruptly into a ditch across the street and running over the neighbor’s driveway and straight back towards the victim’s driveway, where she said she was standing, the report said.
Lemus was arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail. He’ll appear in Marion County Court on April 14.