A Wildwood man was arrested for battery after allegedly strangling his girlfriend and dragging her into the road.
Officers responded to Hence Road at 3:20 a.m. Monday, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. A witness told dispatchers that 22-year-old Ra’Mir Dariyon Blackwell was dragging his girlfriend of three years into the road. The former noticed the witness speaking with 911 and immediately fled the scene.
The witness explained to the officers that she was “stopped on Hence Road by a lady who was in danger.” The girlfriend told her Blackwell had been beating her for about three hours and asked her to call law enforcement. The witness saw when Blackwell dragged his girlfriend into the road, and she reiterated that he fled when he realized she was on the phone with 911, the report said.
While speaking with the girlfriend, the officers observed what appeared to be fresh bruising on both sides of her neck. Her shirt was also torn at the left shoulder. She was initially reluctant to cooperate with the police, but after being asked if Blackwell choked her, she confirmed that he did, the report said.
Officers later responded to Blackwell’s residence on Fourth Street at 8:30 a.m. to ask about the incident. Blackwell advised that “nothing happened” until he was told about the bruising on his girlfriend and the witness’s statement. He then changed his statement, the report said.
Blackwell admitted the argument began at his place and continued as the couple walked toward Hence Road. He tried to pull his girlfriend back toward the residence during the altercation, the report said.
He was subsequently arrested on charge of battery by strangulation (domestic). He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center without bond. He is currently being held for violating his probation out of Marion County.