An Ocala man was arrested on battery charges after allegedly strangling his girlfriend and throwing her down the stairs during an argument.
An officer responded was dispatched to a domestic disturbance at 8136 Arrow Wood Loop around 7:55 a.m. Friday, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. The female victim reportedly had visible injuries to her face, and 25-year-old Avonta Eianti Crim would not let her leave the residence according to the complainant.
Upon arrival, the officer met the victim at the front door of the residence. She advised that Crim was sitting in his vehicle parked out front. Crim then got out of his vehicle, and the officer told the victim to wait inside until he came back to speak with her. Crim asked if he could leave but was instructed to remain where he was until another officer arrived for the investigation, the report said.
The officer observed Crim on the driver’s side of the vehicle, going in and out. He asked Crim if he had any weapons, and he stated he did. He removed a small black bag from the vehicle and advised that he had a concealed firearm inside it with a license to carry. He was told to put the bag down without reaching for it, and he complied, the report said.
The officer next asked Crim what happened between him and the victim. He stated they got into a verbal argument about ending their relationship and what to do with their two kids. He stated this happened at about 1 a.m., the report said.
Another officer arrived on scene, and the first officer asked him to stay outside with Crim while he interviewed the victim. He then went inside and asked her what had happened, the report said.
The victim advised that she was asleep in their bedroom with the door locked when Crim returned to the residence. He knocked on the bedroom door, and she unlocked it to speak with him. He asked to lay with her, and she said no. He still did it despite her objection, the report said.
Crim “spooned” the victim while she was lying in bed. She “scooted” away from him, and she told him, “This don’t even feel right.” This was when he got on top of her, pinned her to the bed by grabbing both her wrists with his hands and held them there, the report said.
Crim accused the victim of cheating on him and started “going crazy.” She tried to “kick him off” but was unable to get away because he was stronger than her. He then dragged her off the bed and onto the ground in the bedroom before picking her up and throwing her down the stairs. The report noted the victim’s bedroom was on the second floor of the residence with one stairwell leading to the ground level.
While speaking to the victim, the officer noticed multiple scratches on her face and neck as well as bruising on her neck, arms and wrists, the report said. He asked if anything else happened between her and Crim, indicating he could see the markings on her face and neck. She stated, “He choked me.”
The officer asked the victim if Crim used both hands, and she replied, “Yeah.” She stated it happened when she was on the bed, but she did not lose consciousness. She did report her head feeling tender, though, the report said.
The officer next asked if the children saw the altercation, and the victim stated they were asleep in their bedroom on the second floor. She further stated the incident happened between 2 and 3 a.m. Crim took her cell phone, wallet and keys, leaving her without them for the remainder of the night into the morning. She contacted the complainant when she got her phone back from him, at which point he reported the altercation to law enforcement, the report said.
The officer then took photos of the injuries he observed on the victim. She had multiple oval-shaped bruises on her right arm near her wrist, consistent with being grabbed by fingers. She had similar bruises on the inside of both arms, the report said.
The victim also had a large bruise on the left side of the base of her neck, which appeared red and purple in color. She had scratch marks on her face, and a smaller red mark at the base of the right side of her neck. Additionally, she had a rash of small, pinpoint-sized spots on her lower neck and chest, consistent with strangulation, the report said.
The victim declined medical attention but agreed to walk the officer through what happened. She took him upstairs, which consisted of a few small steps to a landing before turning left to the main stairwell up the second floor. She directed him to the bedroom at the top of the stairs, the report said.
The victim again described what happened, including that Crim threw her down the stairs to the “third or fourth step.” She indicated she had pain in her lower back area where she landed. She lifted the back of her shirt, and the officer observed a small bruise at the base of her lower back, the report said.
The victim explained she and Crim had been in an intimate, romantic relationship for about three years. She lived with him and their two children at their current residence as a family unit for about six months, the report said.
The officer returned to speak with Crim outside of the residence and secured him in handcuffs before asking what happened. He also asked how she sustained her injuries, the report said.
Crim stated, “I told her to show me any marks that I did. If I touched you, show me.” He claimed he did not touch the victim. He stated he was DoorDashing the day prior until about 7 or 8 p.m., at which point he arrived back at the residence, the report said.
Crim was supposed to meet with his mother for dinner at 11 p.m. but did not do that, the report said. He stated, “I don’t understand why I be going to jail for something like that, that happened at one o’clock. If it happened at one o’clock, why you didn’t call them then.”
The officer asked Crim to walk him through the events at the residence leading up to the altercation. He stated the victim came outside and smoked with him after he returned to the residence. They went upstairs and were talking inside, the report said.
After the conversation with the victim, Crim slept in the bedroom on the second floor while she slept on the couch downstairs, the report said. He again asked why she did not call the police the night prior if she was alleging he “beat on her.” The officer asked him if he took her phone the night prior, to which he responded, “No, I had my phone the whole night.”
The officer asked again if Crim also took the victim’s phone, and he repeated the same, stating, “My phone, my keys, I had my stuff the whole night.” Crim was asked if the victim had any marks on her, and he said, “Yes, she already had marks somewhere on her collarbone, I seen it.” He stated he told her, “Show me some marks. I don’t see nothing on you, on your face, no nothing,” the report said.
Crim claimed, “Anybody could have gave her those marks.” The officer asked if anyone else was inside the residence at the time of the altercation, and he stated, “No, it was just me, her and my kids,” the report said.
The officer then obtained a sworn written statement from the complainant. She stated the victim video called her on Friday morning to tell her that she was in a physical altercation with Crim. The complainant saw marks on the victim and contacted law enforcement, the report said.
The complainant had seen the victim about a week prior, and she did not have any marks on her at that time. She also stated Crim would not allow the victim to leave the residence. The report said.
Crim was ultimately arrested on charges of battery by strangulation (domestic), battery and kidnap (false imprisonment – adult). He was transported to the Sumter County Detention Center and released after posting $12,000 bond.