A frightened family fled to a storage facility when the mother’s boyfriend threatened their safety.
Officers responded on Sunday afternoon to Fort Knox Self Storage, located at 463 Rolling Acres Road, where they found the girlfriend of 37-year-old Matthew Silvay of St. Augustine, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department.
She advised that at about 12:55 p.m., he showed up at her apartment. He was told to leave by her two sons who were standing in the doorway. He pushed through them to get inside and started a verbal altercation with her, the report said.
The girlfriend tried to flee by running around a table, but Silvay grabbed her right forearm to pull her. Her eldest son freed her from Silvay’s grip. The woman and her children fled to the storage facility. Silvay pursued them to the storage facility.
A check of Silvay’s criminal history revealed he has one prior guilty conviction of domestic battery by strangulation in 2024, in St. John’s County, the report said.
The New Jersey native was arrested and charged with battery (domestic – second offense). He was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $5,000.