A 19-year-old man from Leesburg was arrested after he reportedly threatened his housemates with a knife during an argument over cat litter.
Police responded to an undisclosed residence around 11:46 p.m. Sunday after a report of a battery involving Cailobe Anthony Turner, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
Officers spoke to the female victim, who said Turner was upset because their cat litter box was inside the bathroom. She said she heard him causing a disturbance with a male witness in the residence, and she got between the two to deescalate the situation, the report said.
During the argument, the witness told Turner he was going to search his bedroom to find the narcotics he was using. Turner then pushed the victim to the ground and lunged over her in an attempt to batter the witness. She sustained a minor laceration on her left hand and a scrape about three inches long on her left arm from falling to the ground. The witness was able to grab Turner and place him on the floor, according to the report.
A second male witness picked the victim up from the ground and separated the first witness from Turner. In retaliation, Turner went to his room and returned with a knife to continue causing a disturbance. He was irate because the second witness told him to go to his room after he was separated from the first witness, the report said.
The two witnesses were able to remove the knife from Turner’s possession. However, he then got close to the victim and told her to punch him. She said she put her fist to his chin to get him to stop. She specified that she did push against his chin but was telling him to stop or she would strike him. The contact was not an actual blow to the face. Both witnesses confirmed the witness was gentle and caused no injury, according to the report.
When officers spoke to Turner, he said he was angry about the cat litter inside the bathroom. He said the witnesses ganged up on him, and the victim punched him on the chin. Turner admitted that he pushed his face towards her and dared her to do it, the report said.
Turner had a small cut on his chin that he said was a result of the punch. However, the witnesses and victim believed he had cut himself with the knife before coming out of the room so he could accuse the victim of the injury. The cut on Turner’s chin appeared to be from a sharp object. The minor injury was not consistent with being struck by a closed fist, according to the report.
As a result, Turner was placed into custody. During this process, he tried multiple times to pull away from the officers. He continued to pull away once he was in custody, and officers had to pull him back into a patrol vehicle. Turner was placed in the back seat but refused to put his foot inside. Officers had to pull him inside all the way, the report said.
While in the back of the patrol car, Turner started banging his head against the metal divider separating the front and back seats. He bent the metal divider, causing it to separate from one side. The estimated cost to fix this was $300, according to the report.
Turner was charged with simple battery (domestic), criminal mischief (over $200 under $1,000), and resisting (obstructing without violence). He was taken to the Lake County Jail and released after posting $4,000 bond.
