A Leesburg man was arrested for battery after his girlfriend came forward about the six months of physical abuse she endured at his hand.
An officer responded to a disturbance at an undisclosed residence in Leesburg at about 4:37 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 18, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
Upon the officer’s arrival, the female victim explained she was in an altercation with her boyfriend, 31-year-old Vicario Demetrice Nelson, who she lived with for about eight months, the report said.
The victim said she was playing games on her phone when she received a call from a friend. To keep the call from interrupting the game, she canceled it. Nelson accused her of hiding calls from him and became upset. As he began to yell at her, the victim said he needed to calm down. He became more upset, so she said she was going to call someone, the report said.
Nelson then took the victim’s phone and acted as if he threw it over the fence into the wooded area. She ran outside, causing Nelson to tell her to come back inside because he never abuses her in public. The victim was fearful that he was going to batter her in the house, so she went to a neighbor’s house and used their phone. Nelson refused to answer the door or acknowledge he was inside when the officer tried to regain the phone, according to the report.
The officer returned to the yard and spoke with the victim about numerous incidents of physical abuse that occurred over the past six months. She explained that she had contacted law enforcement before for similar instances but failed to speak to officers during those times. She said whenever officers arrive in the area, Nelson acts calm and coaxes her back inside without her talking to law enforcement, the report said.
The victim said during the most recent physical altercation, Nelson hit her with a chair and caused an abrasion on her right hip from the leg of the chair. She showed the officer the mark, which appeared to be recent but in the healing stage. Based on the description of the altercation and the appearance of the injury, it corroborated her statement. She specified that the incident occurred the previous Wednesday, according to the report.
The victim also showed the officer numerous scratches on the back of her neck and upper back. She said Nelson has long fingernails and would grab her by the back of the neck to forcibly move her around the house. When he grabs her, he scratches her, the report said.
Another instance happened two weeks prior when Nelson punched the victim in the face. She sustained two bruised eyes, which were progressing through the healing stage at the time of the officer’s observation. She had a bruise running across the bridge of her nose that corroborated her statement, according to the report.
The victim said she had photographs of the injuries from when they were more recent, but she was unable to provide them during the investigation. The other physical incidents and marks on the victim indicated an abusive pattern, but she couldn’t provide times or dates for those instances, the report said.
Shortly after leaving the scene, the officer observed the victim walking nearby. She said that upon returning to the residence, her phone was on the front porch. She grabbed it and departed the area, according to the report.
Although it was believed that Nelson was inside the apartment, it was never confirmed, and no contact was made, the report said. However, he was later arrested that same day at about 9:46 p.m. in Leesburg.
A criminal background check revealed that Nelson had been convicted of battery on two prior occasions. These were for simple battery in September 2010 and battery (second offense) in June 2015, the report said.
Nelson was charged with simple domestic battery (one prior conviction) and tampering with a victim by deprivation of 911. He was transported to the Lake County Jail and released after posting $10,000 bond.
