Suspicious 911 call leads to strangulation arrest, Coral Springs cops say
A suspicious 911 call led to a Coral Springs man’s arrest on multiple felony domestic violence charges, including domestic battery by strangulation, according to investigators.
Coral Springs police responded to a home in the 8400 block of NW 35th Street in the early hours of May 4. Mark Anthony Scott, 49, brought officers inside, where he said his girlfriend needed medical attention.
She appeared afraid and had bruises on her neck and injuries around her lips, investigators wrote. She was unable to walk without assistance and had to be helped to a waiting ambulance.
Once separated from Scott, the victim said he had punched and choked her, and that he “is a dangerous and violent man.”
During an interview at a hospital, the victim stated that the altercation began after she put Scott’s son to bed for the evening.
She alleged that Scott and a friend spent the evening drinking, and that she and Scott later got into an argument over infidelity.
The altercation escalated when Scott grabbed her by the hair and dragged her from the garage to the driveway and then began striking her, police say. She was unsure if she crawled or was carried back into the home, but told police that the beating continued in Scott’s bedroom for three to four hours.
She believed that Scott’s friend left at some point, but was unsure when.
During those hours, she said that one of the assaults included Scott choking her to the point of unconsciousness.
According to research published in the Journal of Emergency Medicine, women who experience nonfatal strangulation by an intimate partner are seven times more likely to be murdered than other domestic abuse victims.
The arrest report states that Scott’s son was in his bedroom for the entire incident. He told an officer that he did not see anything, but heard “screaming throughout the night, including statements such as ‘stop’ and ‘You’re going to kill me.’”
He added that, at times, the victim’s voice would go quiet, “which he described as sounding like she was being choked,” according to records.
When the victim regained consciousness, she told police, she attempted to call an Uber to take her to the hospital. Scott took her phone. She got it back and contacted Coral Springs police and said Scott instructed her to put it on speakerphone.
According to Coral Springs Police Department dispatch, “A male voice could be heard in the background of the 911 call stating, ‘Hang up the phone.’ Dispatch then re-contacted [redacted] to determine the nature of the call; however, [redacted] only stated that she needed medical assistance.”
Another officer, who spoke with the victim at the hospital, wrote that she “repeated portions of her statement and had to pause multiple times due to the pain of her injuries.”
Scott denied that there was a physical altercation and said that the victim fell while intoxicated, according to his arrest report. He was arrested and taken to Broward County Jail but was released May 8 on an $18,500 bond.
You deserve to feel safe. If you have concerns about your or a loved one’s relationship, resources are available. MyPlan is a free, secure, research-backed app to help with safety decisions and connect you to additional help.
Local resources include Women in Distress of Broward County (954-761-1133), the Broward State Attorney’s Office Domestic Violence Unit and the Florida Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-500-1119).
