A Summerfield man was arrested Tuesday after his bloodied lady friend activated a panic alarm for help.
The victim told Marion County sheriff’s deputies that she and 42-year-old Casey Michael Free had been arguing about his drinking for a couple of days when it turned violent. She said Free took her phone and walked through the laundry room to the garage. She said she told Free that she wanted her phone back and he pinned her up against the wall by her arms and used his head to strike her in the nose and cause it to bleed, a sheriff’s office report states.
The victim said she grabbed Free’s neck and scratched him to get him off of her. She said he then walked outside to the backyard and since she didn’t have her phone, she pushed the panic button on her alarm several times, the report says, noting that the victim’s nose was bleeding.
Free told deputies that an argument started while he was sitting on the couch in the living room. He claimed the victim flipped the couch over and walked into the garage, where she turned off the garage door so it wouldn’t open, the report says.
Free said he put his head down to get the victim away from him but was “unsure” if he hit her with his head or not. He said she then grabbed him by his neck and scratched him and the altercation ended when he walked outside to the backyard, according to the report.
Free was placed under arrest and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with simple domestic battery. He was being held on $1,000 bond and is due in court July 2 at 9 a.m. to answer to the charge, jail records show.
