An Ocala man with a prior battery conviction was arrested for allegedly battering a woman and taking away two phones to keep her from calling law enforcement.
Kristan Hans Froehlich, 51, was charged with domestic battery (second or subsequent offense) and obstructing justice by tampering in a second-degree felony proceeding. A criminal history check shows Froehlich was convicted in Manatee County in 2015 for battery by strangulation.
The victim told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy she and Froehlich were sharing a 12-pack of beer on Tuesday afternoon when they got into an argument due to both having recently lost their jobs and being short on money. The victim also felt Froehlich was falling into his old ways, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The victim said she became verbally aggressive towards Froehlich, who responded by becoming physically aggressive. She said Froehlich struck her on her left cheek with a closed right hand. The victim said Froehlich took both the victim’s phone and another person’s phone (name and relationship redacted) to keep them from calling the police. She said Froehlich threw one phone into a wooded area outside the residence and the other onto the roof, the report said.
The victim and the other person went to a neighbor’s residence to call 911. Froehlich left the scene in his 1999 Chevrolet Astro van and was not present when the deputy arrived. A be-on-the-lookout order (BOLO) was issued and the vehicle was located outside residence on SW 7th Avenue Road. After a search of the residence and property, Froehlich was found hiding in a box trailer, according to the report.
Froehlich was taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was still being held Friday on $10,000 bond. He’ll appear in Marion County Court on April 21.