A Leesburg man was arrested after allegedly dragging his girlfriend out of Circle K and forcing her into his car.
A deputy responded to Circle K, located at 2211 Citrus Blvd., Leesburg, regarding a physical altercation between 40-year-old Luis Angel Marrero and his girlfriend of two years around 11:45 p.m. Monday, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
A witness advised that she saw Marrero drag his girlfriend out of the store. She was fighting as if she did not want to go with him. The witness recalled him repeatedly asking, “Don’t you want your stuff,” before making it to a white passenger car. He then shoved his girlfriend into the car and left the parking lot southbound on U.S. Hwy. 27/441, the report said.
An employee added that the girlfriend came into the store first and seemed to be intoxicated. Marrero came in next, trying to get her to leave, but she stated she did not want to. He proceeded to pick her up and carry her out of the store, the report said.
All of this information was forwarded to the Leesburg Police Department so they could look for the vehicle. In the meantime, they received calls about the couple in a physical altercation across the street at the Sleep Inn Motel. Officers found the vehicle on Indian Trail near Picciola Road, where they detained Marrero, the report said.
He stated the couple had been drinking at a bar earlier in the evening, and they stopped at Circle K on the way back to the motel. His girlfriend went into the store, and he followed her to say it was time to leave. He grabbed her arm and began to walk her outside, the report said.
He claimed his girlfriend went with him willingly, and he took her back to the motel. He was concerned for her well-being due to her inebriation, so he was trying to get her to go inside. An unknown man then lifted his shirt to show a forearm and told him to let her go. His girlfriend walked off, and he was now unsure of her whereabouts, the report said.
At 1 a.m. Tuesday, the deputy spoke to the girlfriend in her room at the motel. She did not have identification because Marrero took her wallet and phone, the report said,.
She began by confirming that the couple had been drinking that evening, but she went into Circle K to get away from Marrero. He grabbed her arm and pulled her outside toward the car, to which she repeatedly told him to stop. He continued pulling her until he threw her into the car, hitting her ribcage on the side door, the report said.
Marrero forcefully closed the door before driving to a park hidden behind a neighborhood. She got out of the car and sat on the ground because she did not want to be around him. He subsequently picked her up and threw her back into the car, the report said.
The girlfriend described another incident where she fell from the vehicle as he drove recklessly. She had a panic attack due to trauma from a previous car accident in 2022, so when he stopped at a stop sign, she opened her door to get out. He put the car in drive and turned, causing her to fall out onto the pavement. Her left thigh hurt, but she sustained no redness, bruising or swelling, the report said.
A final incident occurred in the motel parking lot. The girlfriend stated she walked away from Marrero and entered the Denny’s next door to use a phone to call for a ride. Marrero grabbed her by the shoulders and roughly pulled her back outside to his car, the report said.
While speaking with the girlfriend, the deputy observed that although she looked intoxicated, she did not seem to be completely inebriated. She could make decisions for herself and got a ride from her brother back to her residence, the report said.
Marrero was ultimately arrested on charges of simple battery (domestic) and false imprisonment. He was booked at the Lake County Jail with bond set at $90,000.
The New York native was also arrested in Sept. 2025 for stalking a woman and trying to arrange a meeting with her at Walmart.