A Clermont man who was a patient at a behavioral center is facing charges after an alleged attack on a nurse.
An officer responded to LifeStream Behavioral Center, located at 2020 Tally Rd., for a battery involving 32-year-old Kenneth Leroy Martin and two nurses at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
Upon arrival, the officer met with one of the nurses. She advised that she heard another nurse screaming for help from the opposite hall where she was working at 7:30 p.m. She ran to assist and saw Martin fighting the staffer while on the floor. She tried to de-escalate the situation, having had success with him in the past, the report said.
Martin was flailing his arms and legs around, hitting and kicking the staff. At that point, his hand struck the left side of the nurse’s face and knocked her glasses to the floor. She kept talking to him to de-escalate the situation, but he continued to resist the staff. He kicked her in the ribcage and in the right thigh area in the process, the report said.
The officer later spoke to the other nurse who had been taken to the ER at UF Health Leesburg Hospital. She stated she was performing her rounds, checking everyone’s vitals, when Martin came toward her and touched her. She told him to stop, as that was the second time he had done so in 10 minutes, the report said.
He became hostile and started yelling profanities at her. She told him to stop for a third time and walked away. He instead ran at her and punched her on the right side of her face near her right eye, the report said.
Martin was ultimately charged with two counts of aggravated battery (law enforcement officer, firefighter, EMT, etc.). On Saturday evening, he was transported from LifeStream to the LPD for paperwork. He is now at Lake County Jail with bond set at $10,000.