A former Lady Lake police lieutenant has entered a plea deal in a domestic violence case which requires him to surrender his law enforcement certificate.
Nelson Vargas, 51, entered a pre-trial intervention contract this past week in Lake County Court that could enable him to avoid prosecution on a charge of battery. In addition to surrendering his law enforcement certificate, he must seek an alcohol evaluation and follow recommended treatment as well as perform 35 hours of community service. A followup will be conducted in 90 days to determine if he has met the terms of the contract.
Vargas, who resigned from the Lady Lake Police Department on Dec. 3, had been arrested Aug. 13 at his home in Minneola on charges of domestic battery and child abuse.
Hours prior to his arrest, Vargas had been texting his wife while she was out to dinner with a friend, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The texts were “vulgar in nature.” The wife blocked Vargas’ messages, the report said. When she arrived home, Vargas was sitting on the couch, drinking beer and playing loud music. She asked Vargas to turn down the music. She went upstairs, but when she returned downstairs, Vargas used vulgar language and ordered her to go to sleep. She took his beer and poured it down the sink in the kitchen. He shoved her and grabbed her by the arm. Their 11-year-old daughter witnessed what was happening and told Vargas to stop. He pushed her and told her to “mind her own business,” the report said. She ran crying to a bedroom where she locked the door. Her mother headed for the bedroom, but Vargas shoved her to the floor of a nearby bathroom. The daughter emerged from the bedroom and saw her crying mother on the floor. A call was placed to 911.
The prosecutor’s office announced in September the child abuse charge was being dismissed. In a court document, the prosecutor’s office indicated that it had no choice but to drop the child abuse case because Vargas’ wife refused to allow their daughter to be interviewed directly by a member of the prosecutor’s office.
Vargas joined the Lady Lake Police Department in February 2017. Vargas was promoted in June 2018 to the rank of corporal and became a field training officer, training new members of the department. In 2019, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Prior to joining the force in Lady Lake, Vargas served as a police officer for 23 years in his hometown of East Hampton, N.Y.