Beating suspect in familiar fix

PORT RICHEY -- Jeffrey Christian Crouch's girlfriend has begged for leniency on his behalf, been accused of lying for him in court and been spotted hand-in-hand with him, despite a judge's order that they stay apart.

Now, Crouch again faces charges that he beat her.

Crouch, 46, was arrested Wednesday on charges of false imprisonment and domestic battery, police said.

"Certain names, you just keep seeing," said Lt. Bill Sager of the Port Richey police.

Crouch, a Port Richey shrimper who lives at 5701 Regis Ave., is one of them.

In 1987, he was arrested on a first-degree murder charge after the body of his wife, Jean, was found on Green Key Beach. She had been strangled. Prosecutors dropped the charge after a judge ruled that Jeffrey Crouch's alleged confession could not be used in court.

In 1998, he and his then-girlfriend were the only two people at home when his 20-month-old son, Travis, suffered a skull-breaking blow that killed him, police said. The killing remains unsolved.

Crouch is now accused of preventing his girlfriend, Melissa Uhr, from leaving their house early Wednesday morning. The two have a 10-month-old son together.

She declined to comment Thursday afternoon, but a police report recounts the event.

A neighbor called police just before 5:30 a.m. An officer drove to the house and heard Uhr scream from inside the house.

Sager said she told police: "I woke up and wanted a cigarette and he wouldn't give it."

She tried to leave the house -- either to get away or to get a cigarette, Sager said.

The front door was locked. She said she asked Crouch for the key and he told her, "You are not leaving."

So she tried another door and found it bolted shut. She said Crouch grabbed her as she tried to leave. "There was some slapping and pushing," Sager said.

Once she got out the door, Crouch pushed her into their pool, she told police.

He was being held Thursday night at county jail in Land O'Lakes in lieu of $15,000 bail.

Crouch was arrested in November 2000 when a Port Richey police officer saw Crouch and Uhr holding hands on the street, even though they were under court order to have no contact. When she appeared in court in March 2001, a judge said he found both Crouch's and Uhr's explanations for being together were "totally unreasonable."

He went to trial in November 2000 on charges that he dragged her out of a car, slapped her face and pulled her hair. He was sentenced to 10 weekends in jail.

Uhr also was the state's key witness against Crouch when he stood trial in February 2001 after he was accused of throwing garbage and potted plants at her. Uhr testified that Crouch had done nothing wrong. A jury acquitted Crouch.

-- Staff writer Cary Davis contributed to this report. Ryan Davis is the police reporter in Pasco County. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6245, or toll-free at 800-333-7505, ext. 6245. His e-mail address is rdavis@sptimes.com.

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