LAKE CITY, Fla. – Police in Lake City arrested a man they said battered a woman who is seven months pregnant Sunday evening.
Police said the 29-year-old Carla Mendleson picked up 24-year-old Nathan Gilliard about 6:30 p.m. alongside State Road 247 and gave him a ride to a Publix parking lot.
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Officers said Gilliard beat Mendleson in her car while stopped in the parking lot after she asked him to get out of her car.
Mendelson told police Gilliard was not her boyfriend, but Gilliard said that the baby was his and Mendelson was his girlfriend. Officers said they were not able to confirm any type of relationship between the two.
Police said a man who witnessed the attack intervened, trying to pull Mendelson out of the car. He said he had to kick Gilliard in the head to free Mendleson from him, according to police.
Police said Gilliard went around the car and began attacking the man. The man defended himself, and Gilliard ran off, police said. He was arrested a short time later after resisting arrest, police said.
Gilliard was booked in the Columbia County Detention Center with bail set at $92,000. He is charged with aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, battery on a law enforcement officer, criminal mischief and resisting an officer with violence.
Two of the officers, Mendelson and the man who helped her all received minor scrapes and bruises as a result of the attacks. All declined medical assistance on scene.