A 28-year-old woman, who was beaten and held captive for two days by her felon boyfriend, managed to escape when she convinced him to let her bring their dog to an animal hospital, where she slipped a staff member a note, saying to call police, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said Saturday.
The note from the woman read: "Call the cops. My boyfriend is threatening me. He has a gun. Please don't let him know." The staff member called law enforcement, and DeLand police responded, detaining the boyfriend at DeLand Animal Hospital, said Sheriff's spokeswoman Laura Williams.
Jeremy Floyd, 39, was ultimately charged with a number of crimes, including domestic violence, aggravated assault with a firearm, false imprisonment, simple battery, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Williams said.
The assault on the woman, whose name is being withheld because she is a victim of domestic violence, began Wednesday night in the home that she shares with Floyd in the 900 block of South Amelia Avenue.
According to a charging affidavit, she told authorities that she initially tried to escape Floyd, who threatened to have her sexually assaulted, by jumping out a bedroom window and running down the street. But he chased her down and dragged her back in the house.
He then struck several times in the head and grabbed a loaded handgun, threatening to kill her with it, she said. At one point, she tried to wrest the handgun away, and in the struggle for it, the firearm went off. Floyd kept control of the weapon, and the woman said she then went to sleep, not waking up for 22 hours due to head trauma, according to the charging affidavit.
On Friday, she awoke and eventually convinced Floyd to let her take her dog, who was behaving oddly, to the animal hospital. He, however, refused to allow her to go alone. While they drove to the veterinarian, the woman said Floyd pointed the loaded handgun at her and threatened to kill her and her family, according to the charging affidavit.
Once there, they were waiting on the vet when she went to the bathroom. It was then when she was able to slip the note to the staff member, who called police.
The woman was taken to Florida Hospital DeLand where she was treated for her injuries, which included the head wound, a black eye, bruised arms and legs, and scratches on her hands and fingers.
According to the charging affidavit, Floyd denied beating his girlfriend, and he saidthat all her injuries came from when she dove out the window and struggled with him for the gun. He claimed that she had threatened to commit suicide and that he then unloaded the gun after it had gone off. He told deputies that he had no idea why she would have contacted law enforcement.
Deputies eventually accompanied the woman to the couple's home, and they located in a hallway to bullet holes, which passed through drywall and into another room. The woman completed a sworn statement but declined to pursue criminal charges.
Floyd, who has a police record going back to 1998, was still charged by deputies. He was being held Saturday at the Volusia County Branch Jail on no bond. In the past, he has been convicted of burglary, sale of cocaine, possession of a controlled substance, and grand theft, according to court records.