A mom-to-be from Lee County, FL., says her refusal to give her unborn baby the same name as his teenage dad, nearly led to both mother and child losing their lives at his hands in a violent fight.
Writers for the New York Post report that 18-year-old Raul Lopez faces felony charges of aggravated battery of a pregnant woman and domestic battery by strangulation for the June 7 incident, which apparently stemmed from a verbal altercation between the expectant parents earlier that day at a neighborhood Wal-Mart.
“Lopez suggested naming the baby boy they are expecting after him,” the arrest report reads, “but she [apparently] wasn’t on board [with that idea].”
After returning to their shared residence in Fort Myers, the duo’s argument over the baby’s name ultimately elevated to the point of Lopez’s girlfriend seeking refuge from the fight behind the locked door of a bathroom.
Lopez, however, hadn’t apparently gotten his point across just yet.
“[The accused] allegedly got into the [bathroom] by removing the door knob,” Lee County law authorities noted in court documents, “[where he then] covered his girlfriend’s nose and mouth with his hands until she began losing consciousness.”
Journalists for NBC-2 add that once the woman was unconscious, Lopez dragged his pregnant partner back to their bedroom by the woman’s hair and “tossed her” onto their shared bed.
The pregnant woman would ultimately be saved by her mother, who also lives in the residence, once she heard Lopez and her daughter’s altercation and separated the two, prior to calling the police.
Lee County Sheriff Office’s deputies relayed to the media that the woman and her unborn child suffered no lasting injuries from the altercation. Lopez’s first court appearance on the baby name fight matter is scheduled for July 10.
In related news, an Indiana resident has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for, similarly, attacking a pregnant woman.
Man who batters his pregnant girlfriend goes to prison – Shane S. Perkins threw down his pregnant girlfriend du… https://t.co/SPUfD7clwW
— Journal & Courier (@jconline) June 1, 2017
Shawn S. Perkins of Lafayette previously entered a guilty plea to the charge of domestic battery against a pregnant woman for the January 19, 2017, incident, as Journal & Courier notes , but was still ordered by Tippecanoe Superior 1 Judge Randy Williams to serve the entirety of the three-year sentence, save for six months “good behavior.”
“Perkins has about six months of good-time credit for his time at the Tippecanoe County Jail,” J&C writers detail.
The accused’s charges stem from an alleged January interaction between Perkins and the expectant woman, his then nine-months-pregnant girlfriend, as she attempted to depart Perkins’ home after an argument .
“Perkins’ girlfriend told police he threw her to the ground [inside the home] as she tried to leave during a disagreement,” a probable cause affidavit related to the case reads.
“The fall [caused] her [to hurt] back and her stomach began to hurt,” as well, it goes on to say.
Perkin’s pregnant partner was soon able to make it back to her feet and continue her way out the door, but Perkins soon followed behind and reportedly “grabbed her in a bear hug, and bit her ear in an attempt to stop her from leaving,” the court document continues.
One of Perkins’ neighbors reportedly overheard the melee and contacted police, which allowed the injured woman to finally make a getaway and be treated at a nearby hospital for her injuries, the affidavit also says.
Prosecutors officially charged Perkins with domestic battery to a pregnant woman, domestic battery and criminal confinement on January 25 of this year. Following his release, he will be supervised for a year by a community corrections officer before going on to serve a separate, supervised year of supervised probation, as Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Patrick Harrington explained in a statement after Perkins’ sentencing.
The status of the pregnant woman and her unborn baby were not mentioned in the report.
[Featured Image by Lee County Sheriff’s Office]
