A Wildwood man was arrested after allegedly slapping his pregnant wife’s phone out of her hand and threatening to “beat her.”
The pregnant wife of 22-year-old Jaylin Marquez Barnes asked an employee of Mid Florida Physicians Group, located at 300 S Main St., to call the police around 12:10 p.m. Wednesday, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. Her partner of five years had slapped her phone out of her hand and threatened to “beat her” when they got home.
By the time an officer got there, Barnes had already left the scene. A witness described him and indicated which direction he fled, after which he was spotted nearby in front of his residence on Peters Street. The officer told him to stop twice before he complied, the report said.
The officer then asked what had happened to get a better understanding of the situation, the report said. Barnes repeatedly stated he “didn’t do nothing.”
He added, “I’m from Lake County, I don’t play those games. I will kill anybody and everybody. I don’t care if y’all can hear me or none of that – that’s the type of person I am.”
Meanwhile, other officers spoke with his wife and learned the couple had gone shopping in the Save A Lot plaza. Barnes became upset after seeing his ex-girlfriend at Save A Lot, and as his wife left the store, he followed her to Mid Florida Physicians Group. She then tried to make a phone call, only for him to slap her phone out of her hand, the report said.
Barnes then threatened to “beat her” when they got home, something she stated he had done before. This scared her, so she went into the physicians office and asked the employees to call law enforcement. The employees subsequently escorted her to the back of the establishment, where she heard Barnes banging on the windows and doors, the report said.
The wife did not sustain any injuries, but multiple witnesses saw the incident. One of them was sitting at her desk when she heard yelling and screaming coming from outside her office. She heard the wife yell to “call the cops” before another medical staff member allowed her inside. Barnes proceeded to bang on the windows and threaten to harm his wife and employees with a weapon, the report said.
Another witness saw Barnes slap his wife’s phone out of her hand, causing it to fly. His wife repeatedly told him to get out of her face as she asked for 911 to be called, the report said.
The report noted that after being put in the back of a patrol vehicle, Barnes stated his wife was pregnant, indicating he knew of this.
Barnes was arrested on charges of aggravated battery (offender knew/should have known victim pregnant) and simple assault (intent threat to do violence). He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center with bond set at $6,000.
He was also arrested in April 2022 after being stopped behind the wheel of a stolen car on Lake Ella Road.