Two arrests were made this week when a husband admitted to battering his wife after his stepson punched him in retaliation for the attack on his mother.
Officers responded to a verbal argument between 38-year-old Zachary Gibbs of Lady Lake and 22-year-old Cory Andrew Cetrullo of Ocklawaha at 10:05 p.m. Sunday at the home of Gibbs and his wife, who is Cetrullo’s mother, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department.
During the investigation, the officers learned Gibbs had battered his wife of 15 years the night before. They were sitting on the couch arguing when he stood up and pinned her to the couch. He then put his hands on her face, neck and upper torso, pressing her further into the couch, the report said.
He quickly stood up and was apologetic, but she had an interior Nest camera that captured the argument and the battery. Gibbs also admitted to it, saying he did something he should not have and “put hands” on her. There were allegedly several prior incidents that were not reported to law enforcement, as well, the report said.
Cetrullo, the stepson of Gibbs, was not aware of this until Sunday. He no longer lives at the residence but came in through the back door after learning of the previous day’s abuse of his mother. Gibbs was sitting on the couch when Cetrullo started to repeatedly punch him in the face, the report said.
When the officers got there, they could hear yelling as they walked through the front door. They opened the door to Cetrullo shouting at Gibbs to come out of the bedroom and get out of the house. He then turned to the officers and shouted at them to get Gibbs out of the house for hitting his mother, the report said.
Cetrullo later stated he heard about what happened and saw the video of Gibbs battering his mother. This enraged him, and with a lot going on in his life, he snapped. He went to the residence, saw Gibbs, hit him and demanded he leave. He also demanded law enforcement be contacted about what happened Saturday night, the report said.
Gibbs corroborated Cetrullo’s statement. The officers saw no visible injury to him other than scratches on the back of his left calf from when he was being struck on the couch, the report said.
Gibbs was ultimately arrested and charged with simple battery (domestic). The Indiana native was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $1,000.
Cetrullo was also arrested for simple battery (domestic) and taken to jail. He was released after posting $1,000 bond.