She told her boyfriend she wanted to go to a strip club. Then came violence, cops say
What was supposed to be a fun night out Tuesday took a violent turn for a Florida couple, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Miami Herald, a deputy on marked uniform patrol in North Fort Myers received a physical domestic disturbance call at a local bar-restaurant around 8:45 p.m. Though redacted in the report, TV station NBC-2 reports the destination was The Nauti Parrot Tiki Hut.
The arriving deputy made contact with the man, who explained that his live-in girlfriend, later identified as Elizabeth Ann Sherlock-Mason, 61, initially wanted him to take her to a nearby strip club called Lookers. Deputies withheld his name from the police report.
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The boyfriend, 69, suggested they go to dinner first. Once they arrived to the restaurant, she began drinking and “becoming verbally abusive,” so he decided it was best they leave and stood up from his bar stool. Mason apparently wanted to stay, and grabbed her boyfriend’s neck with “both hands In an attempt to choke him,” according to the police report.
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After the man forcibly removed Mason’s wrists from his neck, the altercation escalated. Mason then “kicked him in the groin,” notes the complaint. The report said he didn’t lose consciousness or the ability to breathe.
In the fracas, Mason lost her balance and fell off the bar stool to the ground. The man tried to help her up, but she refused assistance and exited to the parking lot while he called 911, says the report.
The deputy observed several red marks around the man’s neck consistent with his claims. The injuries were documented, but the man refused medical treatment.
The deputy then made contact with Mason, who was “roaming the parking lot for a ride home.”
The suspect, who was “showing signs of intoxication by slurring her speech and stumbling,” explained that her boyfriend hit her on the head and she fell to the ground, the complaint reads.
The deputy did not observe any marks or injuries. Due to the “inconsistencies,” the deputy detained Mason, who smelled of alcohol, according to court records.
After being read her rights, Mason explained that while she and her boyfriend were sitting at the bar, he was the one who became abusive and she admitted hitting him in the head out of anger.
There was no video of the incident, nor witnesses, but “based on the totality of circumstances,” Including the victim’s age, the deputy believed there was sufficient probable cause to charge Mason with one count of battery on someone 65 years of age or older.
She was taken to the Lee County Jail.
