An Ocala man was arrested on battery charges after allegedly strangling his girlfriend and throwing her down the stairs during an argument.
An officer responded to a domestic disturbance at 8136 Arrow Wood Loop around 7:55 a.m. on Friday, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. The female victim reportedly had visible facial injuries, and the complainant claims that 25-year-old Avonta Eianti Crim refused to let her leave the apartment.
Upon arrival, the officer greeted the victim at the front entrance of the house. She informed me that Crim was sitting in his parked car out front. Crim then exited his vehicle, and the officer directed the victim to wait inside until he returned to speak with her. According to the report, the officer told Crim to stay until another officer arrived to conduct the investigation, despite his request to leave.
The officer noticed Crim entering and exiting the vehicle from the driver’s side. He asked Crim if he had any firearms, and he said he did. He pulled a little black bag from the vehicle and stated that it contained a concealed pistol with a license to carry. The report states that he followed the advice to put the bag down without reaching for it.
The officer then questioned Crim about what had happened between him and the victim. He said they argued about ending their relationship and what to do with their kids. He indicated that the dispute occurred around 1 a.m., according to the report.
Another officer arrived on the scene, and the first officer ordered him to remain outside with Crim while he interviewed the victim. According to the account, he stepped inside and asked her what had happened.
When Crim returned home, the victim informed him that she was asleep in their bedroom with the door locked. He knocked on the bedroom door, which she unlocked to speak with him. He asked to lie with her, but she declined. Despite her objections, he continued to do so, according to the report.
Crim “spooned” the victim as she lay in bed. She “scooted” away from him and informed him, “This doesn’t even feel right.” According to the allegation, he jumped on top of her and pinned her to the bed by seizing both her wrists and holding them in place.
Crim accused the victim of cheating on him and began “going crazy.” She attempted to “kick him off” but was unable to escape because he was stronger than her. He then dragged her from the bed to the ground in the bedroom before lifting her up and flinging her down the stairs. According to the investigation, the victim’s bedroom was on the second floor of the home, with one set of stairs down to the bottom level.
While conversing with the victim, the officer noted several scratches on her face and neck, as well as bruising on her neck, arms, and wrists, according to the report. He inquired whether anything else had occurred between her and Crim, emphasizing that he could see the markings on her face and neck. She said, “He choked me.”
The officer asked the victim whether Crim had used both hands during the incident, to which she responded, “Yeah.” She reported that the incident occurred when she was on the bed, but she did not lose consciousness. However, she reported that her head felt sore, according to the article.
The officer then questioned if the children witnessed the argument, to which the victim said that they were sleeping in their second-floor bedroom. She further indicated that the incident occurred between 2 and 3 a.m. Crim grabbed her cell phone, money, and keys, leaving her without them for the rest of the night and morning. After receiving her phone back from him, she contacted the complainant, who then reported the incident to the police, according to the report.
The officer then photographed the victim’s injuries. Her right arm displayed several oval-shaped bruises around her wrist, consistent with finger grasps. The report stated that she had comparable injuries on the insides of both arms.
The victim also had a significant bruise on the left side of the base of her neck that was a red and purple color. She had scratches on her face and a little red bruise at the base of her right neck. The report also stated that she had a rash of small, pinpoint-sized lesions on her lower neck and chest, which were consistent with strangling.
The victim denied medical attention but consented to tell the officer what happened. She led him upstairs, which involved a few minor steps to a landing before turning left to the main stairway on the second level. According to the complaint, she directed him to the upstairs bedroom.
The woman recalled what happened again, including how Crim threw her down the steps to the “third or fourth step.” She reported soreness in her lower back where she landed. She lifted the back of her shirt, and the officer noticed a minor bruise at the base of her lower back, according to the report.
The victim claimed that she and Crim had been in a close, passionate relationship for around three years. According to the report, she lived with him and their two children at their current home as a family unit for around six months.
The officer returned to speak with Crim outside the apartment and handcuffed him before inquiring what had transpired. According to the article, he also inquired as to how her injuries occurred.
Crim claimed, “I asked her to show me any marks I made.” “If I touched you, show me.” He said he had not touched the victim. He indicated that he was DoorDashing the day before until around 7 or 8 p.m., when he returned to the apartment, according to the report.
The report states that Crim had planned to meet his mother for dinner at 11 p.m. but failed to do so. He said, “I don’t understand why I’m going to jail for something like that; it happened at one o’clock. Could you please explain why they weren’t contacted at one o’clock when the incident occurred?
The officer requested that Crim walk him through the events that occurred at the apartment prior to the altercation. He claimed the victim came outside and smoked with him after he returned to the house. They went upstairs and talked inside, according to the account.
According to the complaint, Crim slept in the second-floor bedroom while the victim slept on the couch downstairs. He questioned why she did not call the police the night before if she was alleging he “beat on her.” The police asked if he had taken her phone the night before, to which he replied, “No, I had my phone the whole night.”
The officer inquired again whether Crim had also taken the victim’s phone, and he responded, “My phone, my keys, I had my stuff the whole night.” Crim was questioned if the victim had any marks on her, and he replied, “Yes, she already had marks somewhere on her collarbone; I saw them.” He said he instructed her, “Show me some marks.” “I don’t see anything on you, on your face, nothing,” the report read.
Crim said that “anyone could have given her those marks.” The officer asked if anybody else was inside the house at the time of the fight, and he replied, “No, it was just me, her, and my kids,” according to the report.
The officer then got the complainant’s sworn written statement. She added that the victim video-called her on Friday morning to inform her that she was involved in a physical argument with Crim. According to the report, the complainant noticed marks on the victim and reported them to police.
The complainant had last seen the victim about a week before, and she was free of marks. She also alleged that Crim would not allow the victim to leave the home. The report stated.
Allegations of domestic battery by strangulation, battery, and kidnapping (false detention of an adult) eventually led to Crim’s arrest. After posting a $12,000 bond, the Sumter County Detention Center released him.