A Leesburg man was arrested after allegedly strangling his girlfriend and injuring her with a box cutter.
A deputy responded to a battery involving a knife at an undisclosed Leesburg residence around 8:05 a.m. Tuesday, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Upon arrival, he met with two other deputies who were with a female victim. One of them was flagged down by her, and she advised that she was abused. Her abuser, later identified as 34-year-old Norberto Angel Velez, was back at her apartment with a knife, the report said.
The deputy observed several abrasions on the victim’s neck and arms. She also had a contusion, swelling and abrasions on and around her left eye. That same eye appeared to have burst blood vessels, the report said.
As the deputy began speaking to the victim, EMS arrived and took her inside the ambulance to assess her. There she advised that she was strangled and cut with a box cutter by Velez, the report said.
The victim stated that at about 7:30 a.m., Velez was not letting her leave the apartment as he stood in front of her and told her she was not allowed to go. When she tried to leave, he began strangling her and held a box cutter up to her neck. She could not breathe during this, the report said.
The victim brought her son to the bus stop at about 7:40 a.m., so Velez took her phone.
She believed he took it because he thought she was going to call 911. When walking back from the bus stop, she saw two deputies and stopped to speak with them, the report said.
The deputy asked if there had been any prior incidents with Velez to which she advised he struck her in the face with a closed box cutter in his hand on Sept. 16. She also stated that prior to this incident, he sexually assaulted and strangled her. She could not provide an exact date for this, but it was later found that Velez had an active warrant in Lake County regarding the incident, the report said.
The deputy next asked about what the abrasions on her neck and behind her ears were from, to which she said the box cutter. As for her eye, she advised it was from the Sept. 16 incident, the report said.
The victim further explained that she had known Velez for about five years, two of which were spent in an abusive relationship. They also shared a child in common, the report said.
While the deputy remained in the ambulance with the victim, others entered the apartment with her consent to look for Velez and the child. There were no signs of struggle or either party. It was determined that the juvenile was at their daycare and in good health, the report said.
Deputies waited in the area to see if Velez would return but were unable to find him.
However, at about 11:10 a.m., a deputy returned to the property because Velez was back, the report said.
Once at the scene, several other deputies were already setting up a perimeter. They got consent from the victim to enter the apartment and did so with no sign of Velez. He was found on County Road 44 Leg A and taken into custody a short time later, the report said.
Velez was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill (domestic), battery by strangulation (domestic), aggravated battery (domestic), false imprisonment (domestic) and deprivation of 911. The New York native was transported to Lake
County Jail to be held without bond. The bond for his outstanding warrant was set at $1,000.
