Hillsborough County woman, Laquavia Sharelle Wallace, 28, was arrested on April 16, 2013 in Manatee County for domestic battery after allegedly travelling to her ex-boyfriend’s house to pick up their child and demanding to reinstate their relationship. Upon her arrival and levying of demands, Antonio Williams informed Ms. Wallace that he was uninterested in reigniting their love light, clearly to his detriment. In what can only be imagined to be the scenario of “if I can’t have you, no one can,” Wallace proceeded to grab the penis of Mr. Williams, yanking it violently thereby causing him extreme pain. Luckily for Mr. Williams he was able to overcome the assault by grabbing Ms. Wallace’s arms and fending her off. Ultimately Ms. Wallace was arrested in Manatee County and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery. Not necessarily surprisingly for a domestic violence type of case, Mr. Williams has asked the State Attorney’s Office not to prosecute the case.
Domestic Violence in Florida is governed by Florida Statute 741.28 and defines “domestic violence” for purposes of this particular set of facts as any battery resulting in physical injury to a family member. “Family Member” as applicable to this pair of combatants would apply because they have a common child together. Lastly, Florida Statute 784.03 describes a battery as an actual or intentional touching or striking of another person against their will; or intentionally causing bodily harm to another person. According to the facts of this incident, should the State Attorney decide to move forward on the charges they could potentially prove the case. If the State has adequate testimony from the victim, preferably an independent witness, or pictures of injury they would have a shot at proving this domestic battery beyond a reasonable doubt. As with any battery case, without injury or independent witnesses, a savvy Tampa criminal lawyer could assert a he said/she said defense and cite the fact that the State can’t meet their burden of proving that there is no other reasonable explanation for the allegations but for the notion that a battery has occurred. That’s not easy to do.
Should the State earn a conviction on a case like this, the defendant will never be able seal or expunge their record, if bodily harm is shown the defendant will go to jail for 5 days and the defendant, upon conviction, will have to give up their firearms per Federal Statute 18 USC 922(g)(9). Like many other kinds of cases, the collateral penalties are often the most severe and as such it’s extremely important that your Tampa criminal attorney is familiar with all consequences so as to make their best effort to avoid them.
As odd as the fact pattern is in this case, the consequences could be very serious. This State Attorney’s Office has the final say as to whether they go forward with prosecuting this case. If they believe they have enough evidence to do so, they will. If not, they won’t. Regardless, it’s never a good feeling to wait on your fate when it could be in the hands of a prosecutor. If you’ve been charged with a domestic violence offense in the Tampa area or any other crime, contact The Mayberry Law Firm today for a free consultation at 813-444-7435.