An Ocklawaha man was arrested for battery after allegedly hitting his girlfriend during an argument over who would drive to a bus stop.
Deputies responded to an undisclosed Marion County residence regarding a report of a man, later identified as 52-year-old Kenneth Charles Holbrook, who hit a woman in the face at around 2:05 p.m. Wednesday, according to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
The reportee claimed he saw Holbrook hit the woman across a gate and then opened it to go inside. At that point, the reportee turned around to a parallel driveway to see the woman being pulled out of her car. She ran on foot while he chased her in a vehicle. This was when the reportee called dispatch about the incident, the report said.
Upon arrival, the deputies met with the woman. She claimed nothing happened, and she just had an argument with her boyfriend. Further questioning led to her admitting they were arguing about a vehicle when her boyfriend, Holbrook, “scooted” her out of the driver’s seat, the report said.
Holbrook physically made contact with her body in a side motion to move her to the passenger’s seat because he wanted to drive. She did not want him to drive her, as she wanted to drive herself, the report said.
One of the deputies subsequently conducted a vehicle stop on Holbrook. He was already detained by the time he was brought back to the scene. He was read his rights and agreed to speak with law enforcement, the report said.
Holbrook claimed he never touched the victim. He confirmed they were arguing about who was going to drive the vehicle to the bus stop. He went to get into the driver’s side, and the victim got out of the car. He stated she did it on her own, and she was already out of the car before he got in, the report said.
The West Virginia native was ultimately arrested for battery (domestic) and transported to Marion County Jail to be held without bond.