A Clermont man was arrested for allegedly battering his wife when her sister called law enforcement after she heard him yelling over the phone.
Deputies responded to an undisclosed Clermont residence regarding an argument that was heard at the home by someone over the phone with them around 3:57 p.m. Sunday, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Upon arrival, the deputies spoke with 54-year-old Ronald Richard Lenz who advised that they should not be in his house. He was yelling, cursing and being very irate toward them. He stated the only thing that happened was while the couple was on the phone with his wife’s sister, he was yelling, the report said.
Lenz continued to be irate, but those were the only details he provided about the incident. He stated that guns were on the bed due to them belonging to his wife, and he was trying to give them to her if she wanted them. After that, all deputies got from Lenz was irate behavior and being told to hurry up, the report said.
A deputy then went and spoke with the female victim who advised that they had been having arguments, and Lenz had been physically and verbally abusive to her for a long time. She advised that they had been married for 33 years, the report said.
The victim explained that due to her and a close friend having inappropriate texts, Lenz became irate, and they argued for months over it. He constantly took her phone, and she pleaded with him not to break it. He would respond by throwing it at her to intentionally leave marks and bruises, to which she had a red mark she stated was from that day, the report said.
The victim told deputies of an incident where she was in the bathroom, and he walked in and grabbed her. This caused bruising on her arm that was still currently visible, the report said.
The victim was being watched nonstop from cameras Lenz hid around the house. The cameras picked up the reason the guns were out, which was due to Lens threatening that whoever walked through the door, meaning law enforcement, would be shot, the report said.
The victim did not call law enforcement herself when incidents like that happened due to being afraid of the repercussions from Lenz. She showed deputies photographs of injuries from the past that he had caused her, but she was too afraid to call law enforcement. She did not wish to fill out an affidavit at that time, the report said.
Due to the injuries being consistent with the victim’s side of the events and the incident being domestic in nature, Lenz was placed under arrest and transported to Lake County Detention Center without incident. A criminal history check revealed one prior conviction of inflict corporal injury on spouse/cohab in California where he used to live, the report said.
Lenz was charged with simple battery (domestic – second or subsequent offense). Bond was set at $2,000.