Man allegedly punches girlfriend in the face after drinking at family gathering

A Leesburg man was arrested for battery after allegedly hitting his girlfriend in the face twice.

A deputy responded to a battery in a vehicle near U.S. Hwy. 27 and Hammock Ridge Road in Clermont around 5:20 a.m. Monday, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The girlfriend of 29-year-old Johnny Levone Siplen told dispatchers that they were traveling in a silver Nissan Altima.

Upon arrival, the deputy spotted the vehicle stopped in the median at the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 27 and Superior Boulevard. The girlfriend advised that she and Siplen had been downtown and attended a family gathering, where they drank. He was on the phone with his cousin when he punched her in the face twice, the report said.

She was unable to close her mouth properly after that. He then tried to force her out of the vehicle in the middle of the road, but she refused to do so because it was dark on the highway, the report said.

The deputy examined the girlfriend’s face and observed blood on her lips. She could not close her mouth on one side. She later added that the couple had been together for three years and had lived together in the past, the report said.

Siplen was subsequently arrested on charge of simple battery (domestic). He was booked at the Lake County Jail and released after posting $1,000 bond.