A Wildwood woman was arrested after allegedly hitting her girlfriend several times when she tried to distance herself from an argument.
An officer responded to a disturbance between 26-year-old Marshay Denise Edwards and her girlfriend of one year at Cypress Commons, located at 775 Huey St., around 8:30 a.m. Monday, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department.
Edwards claimed her girlfriend was leaving the apartment with a bag that belonged to her. Edwards grabbed the bag to take it back, but her girlfriend choked her for a second or two. After the struggle, her girlfriend got into her vehicle and struck Edwards’ car, damaging the front of it, the report said.
Officers later spoke with the girlfriend at 7-Eleven, located at 11670 U.S. 301. She stated that on the morning of the incident, Edwards started an argument due to the girlfriend did not taking Edwards’ child to school on time. This disagreement took place in front of the apartment door, and when she tried to leave, Edwards blocked her, the report said.
At that point, Edwards grabbed the girlfriend’s bag and tried to take it from her. Edwards pushed the girlfriend multiple times, but she resisted, leading to a confrontation over control of the bag. The girlfriend chose to leave as Edwards followed, seized the bag again and forcibly pushed her against a car. Edwards proceeded to punch her multiple times on the right side of her face, the report said.
Surveillance footage of the incident corroborated the girlfriend’s account. It also showed her getting into her vehicle while Edwards entered another. Edwards maneuvered behind the girlfriend to block her escape. The girlfriend later recalled feeling fearful in that moment because she had nowhere to go, the report said.
Knowing this, an officer met with Edwards on Tuesday at the World of Beer, located at 2751 W Torch Lake Dr. She stuck to her story, only adding that the girlfriend did not obstruct her airway when she grabbed her neck. She believed someone grabbing her back constituted strangulation, the report said.
Edwards was subsequently arrested and taken to the Sumter County Detention Center. During transport, she repeatedly said that law enforcement would be getting a call from her because she intended to batter her girlfriend. A check of her criminal history revealed she had three prior convictions for battery from April 10, 2018, Aug. 25, 2021, and April 12, 2022, all of which she stated arose from altercations with her ex-boyfriend, the report said.
She was charged with battery and is currently in jail with bond set at $5,000.
Edwards has an extensive criminal record. She was arrested in May 2023 for interfering with police breaking up a girl fight. In 2021, she was arrested three times for taking $530 from Dani’s Mobile Mart, hiding in a trunk during a hit-and-run crash and ramming into a vehicle’s bumper. She was also arrested in Sept. 2020 for pepper spraying a man and vandalizing his car.