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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Belleview truck theft suspect charged with strangling woman

Lucas Edward Knod

A Belleview man out on bond for stealing a pickup truck is back in the Marion County Jail after he allegedly went off his medication and strangled a woman.

Lucas Edward Knod, 33, who is listed as homeless, was charged with domestic battery by strangulation in the incident, which happened Sunday night – 10 days after being released after a month in jail for grand theft auto and possession of marijuana.

At around 8:30 p.m. Monday, a Belleview Police officer responded to the intersection of SE Baseline Road and SE Foss Road, where a man said the victim told him that Knod had beaten her up the previous night. The man said the victim told him Knod held a knife to her throat, kicked her in the ribs and headbutted her in the nose, leaving a mark on her face, according to the police report.

Told of the report that she and Knod were in a physical altercation the previous night, the victim said Knod gets like that when he isn’t on his medications. She said she was at Wawa, filling her tire with air, when Knod texted her and said he was being stopped by the police and probably going to jail, the report said.

The victim said she rushed to Knod and found he was just sitting at the lake with some friends and had never been stopped by the police. She said they started arguing and it continued until they got back to their camp. Asked how she got the mark on her nose, the victim sand she and Knod were “tussling,” according to the report.

The victim said the incident escalated and Knod choked her with his hands, restricting her ability to breathe. She said she was never hit in the ribs. The victim declined to provide further details and said she didn’t want Knod to be arrested. She said it wasn’t the first time he’s hurt her, and she has a scar on her lip from another incident, the report said.

The officer observed a scratch on the victim’s nose that had started to scab over. She did not observe any marks on the victim’s neck or throat, according to the report.

The officer responded to Advent Health, where Knod had been taken, and placed him under arrest. Knod said he never hit the victim and they didn’t even stay together the previous night, the report said.

Knod is being held on $7,000 bond and is due to appear in Marion County Court on Aug. 25.