Holmes Beach police arrested a 53-year-old man May 9 on two third-degree felony charges for aggravated domestic assault and false imprisonment, as well as a first-degree misdemeanor for domestic battery.
The case began when a woman called the Holmes Beach Police Department to report that her husband battered her and had used a knife to falsely imprison her at their home on Sixth Avenue.
An officer met the woman, who had escaped the home to a nearby parking lot and escorted her to the HBPD to get a witness statement.
While the officer was with the woman, the man called her cellphone and admitted — without knowing an HBPD officer was listening — to pushing her and threatening her with a knife.
She told the man on the phone that she did not want to press charges.
But the officer told the man during the same call that he’d be at his house shortly to arrest him.
The man hung up and tried to call his wife again, but the officer answered the call and warned the man that “he was on the verge of witness intimidation and he needed to stop.”
A pair of officers went to the residence and arrested the man in the driveway and transported him to the HBPD.
The man admitted to pushing his wife and using a knife to intimidate her into staying inside the house, “but did not have any intention of using the knife,” according to the arrest report.
An officer transported the man to the Manatee County jail. He was released May 11 after he posted $8,000 bond.
He pleaded not guilty May 13.
His name was withheld by The Islander to shield the wife.
An arraignment will be at 9 a.m. Friday, June 4, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
The sentence for a third-degree felony can include up to a five-year prison term and fines up to $5,000.
The sentence for a first-degree misdemeanor can include up to a one-year prison term and fines up to $1,000.