Brooksville Man Charged in Domestic Battery Case

A Brooksville man has been charged with attempting to strangle a woman who allegedly shot him in self-defense.

Hernando County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) Community Relations Manager Denise Moloney said that shortly after 4 a.m. on Dec. 16, HCSO deputies, along with a crew from Hernando County Fire Rescue, responded to a 9-1-1 call reporting a possible shooting at a residence on Young Street in Brooksville. The caller reported hearing people arguing and then what the caller believed was gunfire.

At the scene, deputies met with Arthur Lee Clinton, 42, sitting in a vehicle on the road. Clinton, who had sustained a gunshot wound to his leg, told deputies that a woman had “shot me by accident.”

Clinton was taken by ambulance to a local trauma center for treatment.

Also at the scene, deputies met with a woman who was sitting in the vehicle with Clinton. The woman told them that she and Clinton had been engaged in an altercation at a local bar, and when they returned to the Young Street home, Clinton removed a gun from the vehicle and placed it on the front porch of the residence.

She told them that Clinton then began battering her, knocked her to the ground, got on top of her and began to strangle her to the point that her breathing was impaired.

When she was able to get up, the woman took the firearm from the porch, and when Clinton charged at her again, she shot him in the leg in self-defense.

The couple got back into the vehicle so that the woman could take Clinton to the hospital. After observing the woman’s visible injuries, including several broken fingernails and scratches on both arms, deputies established probable cause and arrested Clinton.

Upon his release from the hospital, they transported Clinton to the HCSO, where he refused to speak about the incident to detectives.

Clinton was subsequently booked into the Hernando County Detention on one charge of domestic battery by strangulation.
Clinton was freed on a $5,000 bond. The woman was not charged in the case.

The case remains under investigation.

Anyone with information about the case should call Hernando County Crime Stoppers at
1-866-990-TIPS (8477), text or **TIPS from a cell phone, or visit http://www.hernandocountycrimestoppers.com to submit a tip.