A Belleview man suspected of attacking a woman he met at a church food pantry has been arrested on a warrant.
A woman flagged down an officer in the Wawa parking lot, located at 5726 SE Abshier Blvd., regarding a past battery around 8:25 a.m., Sunday, May 24, according to an arrest report from the Belleview Police Department. She advised that her aunt had been battered by her boyfriend, 56-year-old Javier Valentin Francisco, at his residence on Southeast 107th Pl.
Her aunt suffered an inch-and-a-half to two-inch laceration on her right eyelid and a black eye. The wound was still open, and blood had dried down the side of her face. After requesting medical help, the officer escorted her to his patrol vehicle for privacy and asked her to explain what happened, the report said.
The aunt stated she met Francisco about six months prior at a church food pantry. They began dating, and she moved into his residence a month later. They would get into verbal arguments, but he struck her about a month ago. She did not want to go into detail other than his using his hands to choke her, the report said.
The second time he hit her was the night before, around midnight. They were arguing, and she said some nasty things to him. He then shoved her to the ground, where she hit her head and sustained the laceration. She slept on the couch until her family picked her up in the morning, the report said.
The aunt added that Francisco became violent when he drank alcohol. She did not want anything bad to happen to him because he had children. She just wanted to move on with her life and forget about him, the report said.
The officer next spoke with her niece and her sister, the latter of whom stated that she was downplaying Francisco’s violence. She had told their third sister about the situation last month and sent photos. In the pictures, the aunt had bruising and marks on her neck, face and right eye, the report said.
Francisco was ultimately arrested that day on a warrant charging him with battery on a person 65 years of age or older and domestic battery by strangulation. The native of Argentina was booked at Marion County Jail with bond set at $15,000.