A Leesburg man was arrested after he allegedly beat up a man who tried to stop him from raising a ruckus in the neighborhood.
Ernest Graham, 39, of 2213 Simmons Ave., was charged with simple battery (one prior conviction) after the incident, which happened around 9 p.m. Saturday night at a location that was not named in the Leesburg Police report. It was the second time in less than an hour that police responded to the location due to Graham causing a disturbance.
The first officer who arrived at the scene found the victim sitting on the sidewalk with visible injuries and a ripped t-shirt. The victim said Graham was causing a disturbance with multiple people in the neighborhood. The victim said he told Graham, “You wrong, and not where you supposed to be,” according to the report.
The victim said Graham approached him, and he told Graham to back away. He said Graham then pushed him to the ground and started hitting and kicking him multiple times. The victim said while Graham was striking him, witnesses yelled for him to stop. Graham finally stopped and fled the area on foot, the report said.
The victim suffered multiple abrasions to his left arm and an ankle injury. He was taken by Lake EMS to UF Health Hospital for further medical treatment. Two witnesses confirmed to an officer that Graham approached the victim and started hitting him multiple times, according to the report.
At around midnight, police went to Graham’s last known address on Simmons Avenue and arrested him. While being booked at the Leesburg Police Department, Graham told officers the victim approached him and he struck the victim to defend himself. Graham said he suffered an injury to his right wrist and his right shoulder, the report said.
Graham was released from the Lake County Jail on Sunday night on $2,000 bond. He’s scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on Aug. 22.
