A Leesburg man had drugs in his pocket when he was arrested for allegedly strangling his girlfriend in a store parking lot in Fruitland Park.
Damion Lawrence Aughtry, 39, was charged with battery by strangulation, possession of cocaine, and possession of fentanyl after the incident, which happened around 4 p.m. Monday outside the Family Dollar store at 106 W. Miller St.
A Fruitland Park Police officer responded to a report that Aughtry had intentionally struck and choked his girlfriend of a year while sitting in the vehicle, according to the arrest report.
The victim sustained red marks and bruising around her neck. They continued to fight each other until the police arrived, and they set up as if nothing had happened, the report said.
The officer searched Aughtry before putting him in the patrol vehicle and found a white container in his right pocket filled with a white powdery substance that tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl, according to the report.
The Illinois native was arrested and transported to the Lake County Jail, where bond was set at $4,000.