A homeless man is behind bars on battery and drug charges after he allegedly bit his pregnant lady friend and snatched her backback during a spat on a Leesburg street.
A Lake County sheriff’s deputy responded Jan. 17 to a call from a witness who said a man was hitting a woman and took away her backpack. The witness said the couple was walking east on Westmont Road towards County Road 473, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The deputy arrived and saw 29-year-old Matthew Niles Brown and the victim standing in the middle of Westmont Road, west of Cook Avenue. The victim had two small lacerations on her right hand – one on the top of her middle finger and the other on the top of her ring finger. Asked how she received the lacerations, the victim said, “he bit it,” the report said.
The victim, who declined medical treatment, said she and Brown were walking down Westmont Road and arguing over him possibly cheating on her. She said the argument escalate because Brown wanted his dog back, according to the report.
The victim said Brown ran up to her from behind, and she turned around and swung her right hand to tell him to stop, which resulted in her unintentionally grazing her hand across his teeth. She said the lacerations started to bleed because she is on liver medication. The victim said she then gave Brown her backpack so she wouldn’t get any blood on it, the report said.
Asked why she originally said Brown bit her, she said, “he bit down a little bit.” She said she and Brown have been dating/living together for a year, but they broke up three days ago. The victim said she is six months pregnant with Brown’s child ad they are continuing to try and fix their relationship, according to the report.
The deputy noted that during the interview, the victim appeared to be trying to downplay the incident to keep Brown from going to jail. She kept asking if he was going to jail and saying he didn’t harm her that day although he had in the past. The victi signed a sworn affidavit with no intent to prosecute, the report said.
The deputy also observed the victim’s face was red in color but was unable to tell whether it was the result of a battery or was inflammation from what appeared to be narcotic -related sores. The witness who reported the incident had left the scene by the deputy’s arrival and could not be contacted again, according to the report.
Based on witness and victim statements, the deputy determined a battery happened and that Brown was the primary aggressor. While searching Brown during his arrest, the deputy found a cigarette box containing a crystallized substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine. Brown was cooperative during the search and said he had meth in his possession, the report said.
After being read his Miranda warning, Brown said he and the victim argued but the altercation never got physical. He said he tried to take the victim’s backpack because he wasn’t able to get his dog and he wanted to trade the backpack for the dog. Brown said he knew the victim is pregnant with his child, according to the report.
Brown, who is on felony probation for uttering a forged instrument, was charged with aggravated battery on a pregnant victim and possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine). He was being held Monday in the Lake County Jail on $12,000 bond and he is scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on Feb. 16.
