An 18-year-old was arrested after an alleged attack on the mother of his two-year-old daughter sent her to the hospital.
A Lake County sheriff’s deputy responded Friday morning to a call for help from a residence on Rancho Drive in Leesburg. When the deputy arrived at the residence he could hear a female voice screaming, “Please stop! Please get off me!”
The deputy forced his way into the residence and found Dylan Scott Eckerdt holding down a young woman who was crying and trying to cover her face. When the deputy told Eckerdt to let go of her, he replied, “I am just hugging her, bro.”
The deputy was able to separate them and handcuff Eckerdt.
As he was taking Eckerdt to his squad car, Eckerdtt admitted, “I am sorry, I don’t know why I get so mad but I only hit her once and shoved her into the wall.”
The deputy noted the woman’s eyes were bruised and she had scratches on her face. She said that Eckerdt started punching her when he saw comments on her Facebook page from other men. He hit her several times in the face while she was holding the couple’s daughter, the report said.
The deputy then talked to an older man who said he heard a commotion coming from the couple’s bedroom. He saw Eckerdt push the woman onto the bed and strike her several times while she was holding the little girl.
Due to the apparent severity of her injuries, the woman was transported by ambulance to a local hospital.
Eckerdt was arrested on felony charges of domestic battery and false imprisonment. He was booked at the Lake County Jail on $8,000 bond. He had been free on bond following a May 19 arrest on charges of drug possession and possession of a concealed weapon.
