NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – A man accused of taking a baseball bat to a woman's car, causing glass to shatter all over her 9-month-old son, was arrested Wednesday in Jacksonville on an out-of-county warrant.
He was arrested after the baby's mother, Jessica Lovett, told News4Jax on Tuesday she was in fear for her family.
According to the Nassau County Sheriff's Office, 22-year-old Bryson Clifton smashed her car window while the baby was inside the vehicle. Lovett captured the incident on video.
The video shows the suspect smashing the window next to where Lovett's son, Legend, was sitting in the back seat.
“We didn’t do anything. We didn’t get out of the car or anything. I didn’t honk my horn," Lovett said through tears. "I did nothing."
According to the incident report, Lovett, her fiance, a friend and her baby were in her car when they saw Clifton at a gas station in Callahan on April 22.
Lovett said Clifton is a man whom she and her fiance hadn't spoken to in months after a previous altercation. They told deputies that he began to yell at them at the Kangaroo at U.S. Highway 1 at Ratliff Road.
“There were no gas pumps available. So I went to pull around and he stopped in front of me and went to reverse in my car and I reversed to keep away from him and then we headed down Ratliff together," Lovett said.
The report states Clifton stopped his truck then backed up, nearly hitting Lovett's bumper, before speeding off.
Lovett then began recording after she said Clifton pulled out in front of her again.
“He pulled his e-brake and stopped right in front of us so we couldn’t get by him," she said. "Then he walked over with a baseball bat, walked over to my car, told us to 'Get out. Pull the gun out. Pull the gun out,' and we didn’t have any guns. We didn’t step out of the car or anything. He walked over, busted my mirror out and busted my window out on top of my 9-month-old son.”
Lovett’s son now has scratches near his eye, arms and legs after the glass from the car window shattered on top of him.
Fortunately, Lovett’s son is doing OK, however, he is still seeing the doctor.
Suspect arrested
Police arrested Clifton at his mother's home in Jacksonville Wednesday morning after Lovett said she called the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and told them where to find him.
"I feel completely relieved that he's in jail now and he's not out there, able to hurt anyone else," Lovett said after his arrest.
Lovett said her friend, Jamie Forrester, told her where Clifton was after hearing authorities were looking for him.
"I'm scrolling through Facebook and I just so happen to scroll by your story and I was like, 'It's on the news? Are you kidding me?'" Forrester, Clifton's ex-girlfriend, told News4Jax on Wednesday.
Forrester said she was staying at Clifton's house in Jacksonville and was in a situation she couldn't get out of. But she had a brief moment to contact Lovett, who then called 911.
"She told me that she was at his mom's house," Lovett said. "So I called JSO and told them where he was at and they sent the cops cars out there."
Forrester said roughly five police cars showed up at her ex-boyfriends house Wednesday morning and then officers took him into custody.
“I hope they go through and they do all the charges they can do against him, because apparently all the time that he’s done isn’t enough," Lovett said.
Clifton is charged with child abuse, aggravated assault and criminal mischief.
He was booked Wednesday afternoon into the Duval County jail on $10,000 bond. His first appearance is set for 1 p.m. Thursday.
According to Duval County court records, Clifton was convicted of felony battery and misdemeanor criminal mischief in 2015. He was convicted of misdemeanor domestic battery in 2013.
Nassau County court records show he was convicted in 2017 of uttering forged bills.