A Leesburg man was arrested after allegedly slapping a friend’s buttocks and throwing her laptop against a wall.
Officers responded to an undisclosed Leesburg residence for a battery involving 39-year-old Christopher Steven Phillips and a female friend around 2:55 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
The friend advised that she and a witness had invited Phillips over to their residence to hang out after getting surgery for injuries caused by a separate incident. As soon as he arrived, he became upset with the friend for not being interested in him. He was asked to leave due to this behavior, the report said.
He instead became argumentative as the dispute moved from the bedroom to the living room and the kitchen. Soon after, he went to grab a charger from the wall and was going to leave. The friend told him not to take her charger and intervened to grab it, the report said.
When she took it, Phillips slapped her buttocks twice. She defended herself by striking him and pushing him away from her. She could not specify exactly how she struck him due to being in shock at what had just happened, but the middle knuckle on her right hand appeared to swell afterward, the report said.
At that point, Phillips went back to the bedroom, picked up the friend’s rose gold $1,200 MacBook Air and threw it against a wall. The laptop sustained slight chipping and light scratches that she estimated would cost between $200 and $300 to repair, the report said.
The witness subsequently intervened to separate the two, after which Phillips ran out of the residence. He tripped over a pile of miscellaneous pots and pans in the process, the report said.
The witness corroborated this statement and stated he had asked Phillips to bring a black gel rifle, a BB gun, so that he could see it. This was located in the front yard, as Phillips never used it aggressively, the report said.
The officer then spoke with Phillips, who stated he and the friend had a dating relationship that lasted eight months. They had broken up, but he did not know how long they had been separated. He tried to get back together with her and was denied. However, the friend stated they had never been romantically involved, the report said.
He added that nothing physical happened during this incident, and no one else was present during it. He did not specify further information and requested medical attention for injuries on both his legs that were self-inflicted when he lost his balance. He was ultimately arrested at UF Health Leesburg Hospital, located at 600 E Dixie Ave., the report said.
Phillips was charged with simple battery and criminal mischief. He was booked at the Lake County Jail and released after posting $2,000 bond.