DADE CITY - A 23-year-old illegal immigrant is in custody after authorities said he kicked his pregnant girlfriend in the abdomen.
Jesus R. Marquez-Manriquez, 38943 Old Sparkman Road, faces charges of domestic aggravated battery. According to a sheriff's report, he admitted to being a Mexican citizen living in the United States illegally.
The report said that Marquez-Manriquez got into an argument with his girlfriend, who is 3 months pregnant with their child, that lasted all day Sunday. The woman told deputies that about 10:15 p.m., Marquez-Manriquez pulled her into a bedroom, threw her on a bed and kneed her in the abdomen. He shouted profanities at her while holding her on the bed, the report said.
The woman said she scratched Marquez-Manriquez in the face and bit him to get away. Marquez-Manriquez later denied that story, saying his girlfriend attacked him with no provocation, according to the report.
He remained in the Pasco County jail at Land O'Lakes on Monday in lieu of $5,000 bail.
Ground being broken for Dade City patrol office
Pasco County officials and Sheriff Bob White will break ground today for new patrol headquarters for Pasco County sheriff's deputies based in Dade City.
The headquarters will be named in memory of sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison, said sheriff's spokesman Jon Powers. Harrison was fatally shot June 1 while sitting in his patrol car in Lacoochee. A grand jury has indicted 19-year-old Alfredie Steele on a first-degree murder charge.
The new 15,723-square-foot building will replace the current operations center on Howard Avenue, the former Jackson Memorial Hospital.
It is being constructed at the intersection of State Road 52 and Gene Nelson Boulevard across from Pasco Fairgrounds in Dade City.
The ceremony will begin at noon. Construction is expected to be completed by May.
