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DUANE BOURNEThe Spring Hill officer is assigned to administrative duties after he is accused of assaulting his wife and son.
SPRING HILL - A Florida Highway Patrol trooper was placed on administrative leave after he was arrested on charges of domestic battery and child abuse in Hernando County.
Ronald Evans, 36, is accused of assaulting his wife and teenage son Thursday afternoon after an argument at the home the couple shared on Cooper Road in Spring Hill.
Assigned to Troop C barracks in Brooksville, Evans was placed on administrative duties pending the completion of an internal affairs investigation, FHP spokesman Trooper Larry Coggins said Friday. The district includes Hernando, Pasco, Citrus and Sumter counties.
Evans was arrested after a Hernando sheriff's deputy responded to Spring Hill Regional Hospital, where Evans' wife had been taken.
In the emergency room, the victim, whose name is being withheld by the Sheriff's Office because of the nature of the allegations, told the deputy that she and her husband were arguing over his joining the U.S. Army Reserve, a sheriff's report said.
According to the report, the couple has been arguing over Evans' decision to enlist, but the disagreement had escalated over the past month. It is unclear when Evans enlisted. On Thursday around 5 p.m., as the woman returned home from work, the disagreement turned physical, authorities said.
The couple was in the kitchen when Evans became upset because his wife had not accepted a FedEx package for him, the report said. Frustrated, Evans punched the kitchen counter and threatened her. Hearing the commotion, Evans' oldest son, who was not identified, told his father not to hurt his mother and headed into the pantry to grab something to eat.
Moments later, Evans ran toward the woman and grabbed her by the hair. He then slammed her head onto the stove, causing a large bump on her forehead and bruises to her cheek, the report said.
Evans allegedly kicked her as she lay on the floor. Grabbing her by her hair, Evans then dragged his wife through the kitchen and into the laundry room, the report stated.
As his son looked on and pleaded with him to stop, Evans pulled his wife into the garage and kicked her in the back, the report said.
Trying to help his mother, the teen managed to push his father into an air handler. But Evans grabbed his son and threw him across the garage, where he landed on a bicycle, the report said. Evans ordered everyone out of the house.
Unharmed, the teen helped his mother to her feet and took her to a relative's house.
After interviewing the victim at the hospital, two sheriff's deputies went to the Evans home, where they found the blinds closed and the lights off. There was no movement inside the residence - which seemed strange to deputies, because Evans was expected at work around 10 that night, the report stated.
Authorities did not approach the house because the victim had told them her husband has several firearms inside their home. Dispatchers then called the house and left messages on the answering machine, asking Evans to step outside to speak with deputies, the report said.
Evans was taken into custody and booked into the Hernando County Jail at 9:22 p.m. Thursday. He was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery and child abuse, and was released on his own recognizance on Friday after appearing in court, jail records show.
Duane Bourne can be reached at 352 754-6114 or dbourne@sptimes.com