A Leesburg man was arrested on battery charges after allegedly strangling his girlfriend during an argument on the road.
Deputies responded to 26-year-old Jordan Jacob Kroll beating up his girlfriend of eight months in a vehicle on Whitney Road and Garden Drive at 2:45 p.m. Monday, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Upon arrival, they saw Kroll leaned over from the driver’s seat into the passenger seat, punching his girlfriend sitting there. He was detained while the girlfriend advised that they had been arguing over something she could not recall. She stated they both had gotten physical but would not clarify further, the report said.
Kroll subsequently agreed to talk and stated the couple got into an argument over the smell of something he opened in his vehicle. The girlfriend began to hit him out of anger. He ultimately had to pull over and stepped out of the vehicle while it was parked, the report said.
She proceeded to lock him out of the car, enraging him. Due to this, he started hitting the vehicle until she unlocked it. She hit him again once he got back inside, and he claimed to have only struck her during self-defense, the report said.
However, a witness stated he was headed north on Whitney Road when he saw the black passenger car stopped in the middle of the road. Kroll was kicking and punching the driver’s side window at the time, after which he walked over to angrily open the passenger-side door. He then yanked out the girlfriend by her hair, the report said.
The witness continued watching as Kroll wrapped his hands around the girlfriend’s throat, strangling her on the ground. He next rummaged through the vehicle before getting in on the driver’s side. The witness recalled the girlfriend entering the vehicle and sitting back in the car. He never saw her hit Kroll, the report said.
When questioned again, the girlfriend advised that she was strangled at one point and slightly lost her ability to breath. She reiterated that she struck Kroll but added it was partially in self-defense. She sustained redness around her throat, arms and face as well as a stretching around her shirt’s collar, the report said.
As for Kroll, he continued to deny strangling the girlfriend. He sustained a small laceration to his eyebrow and slight redness on his arms. Both he and the girlfriend were profusely sweating, the report said.
Kroll was determined to be the primary aggressor and aggrested on charges of battery by strangulation (dating violence) and simple battery (dating violence). The Wisconsin native was transported to Lake County Jail and released after posting $3,500 bond.