Assistant public defender for 5th Judicial Circuit charged with domestic battery
An assistant public defender of the 5th Judicial Circuit has been charged with domestic battery, according to a Marion County Sheriff's Office arrest report
Walter Leonard Flinn was booked Monday into the county jail shortly after 8:30 a.m.
According to Deputy David Santana's report, he was called to Flinn's residence on Sunday night and spoke with Flinn's wife. The woman said she was talking with her husband about finances when he stood up and hit her in the head with his laptop.
The woman said she put her arms up to protect her head from another hit when Flinn punched her behind the jaw. It caused her earring to puncture the skin behind her ear, the report states.
Flinn then smashed the computer on the dining room chair and threw it in the kitchen. The deputy was told Flinn punched his wife on her upper right rib. The woman told the deputy she was scared because she thought he was going to purposely hurt her some more.
The woman's daughter, who was at the home, heard her mother screaming, came outside, got between them and told Flinn to stop hitting her mother. When Flinn's wife told him she was going to call authorities, he told her "Go ahead, I will have freedom," the report says. He then told his wife and her daughter to get the expletive out, and they left, officials said.
Flinn got some clothing and other items and later left, officials said. The deputy wrote in his report that the daughter saw Flinn punch her mother and slam the laptop on a chair and the floor.
The victim had a large red mark that resembles a fist behind her jaw, the report says. The deputy also reported that he saw the puncture wound behind her ear.
No charge: A bondsman shot and injured a woman who skipped bail. He won't be prosecuted.
About Flinn
The deputy noted in his report that Flinn has no prior battery convictions.
Mike Graves, head of the Public Defender's Office, said Monday he has "no comment until we do our investigation." As for what will happen to Flinn's case, Graves said it's too early to say.
PDO officials said Flinn has been with the 5th Judicial Circuit for nearly a year. He came from Arizona where he was a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and a decorated solider. Flinn also was in private practice and was an assistant public defender elsewhere, officials said.
The Florida Bar website shows Flinn was admitted Sept. 30, 1994, and doesn't have a 10-year disciplinary history. Flinn attended University of Miami School of Law.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Assistant public defender faces domestic battery charge in Marion
