A Leesburg man was arrested for battery after allegedly throwing water at his wife during an argument over an Instagram post.
An officer responded to a disturbance in the home of 26-year-old Gabriel Edwin Santiago and his wife of two to three years around 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
Santiago advised that they had gotten into a verbal argument because he was upset over an Instagram post his wife had made earlier the same day. He took her phone to look at the post, and she shoved him to get it back. She was unsuccessful, after which he walked into the living room and threw the phone onto the couch, the report said.
He then walked into the kitchen to grab a water bottle as she continued to follow him. She threatened to have someone come to their home to beat him up, so he threw the water in the bottle at her, the report said.
But when speaking with the wife, the officer learned she tried to walk away when she felt the verbal argument escalating. She was leaving the residence when Santiago followed her, which prompted her to go back into the house. He came in shortly after and grabbed her phone, the report said.
This initiated a “struggle,” during which she reached over Santiago to get her phone back. He threw it down only when she stated the police would be called if he did not give it back. She did not feel overpowered when fighting for the phone, the report said.
Santiago subsequently opened a bottle of water from the kitchen floor and threw it at his wife. The kitchen floor and the back of her shirt were still wet when talking to law enforcement, the report said.
Additionally, a video of the incident showed the wife yelling at Santiago about his being intoxicated. This continued for a few seconds until he reached down to grab a bottle of water, took a sip and splashed it at her. The camera angle changed to show the wife’s face, asking why he did that, before walking away. He then throws more water at her back, the report said.
Santiago was ultimately arrested on charge of simple battery (domestic). The New York native was booked at Lake County Jail and released after posting $1,000 bond.