Man charged with hitting wife, baby

An Immokalee man was arrested Saturday and charged with striking both his wife and their 5-month-old baby.

Efrain Lopez Mendez, 40, of 701 South First St., No. 8, Immokalee, was arrested by Collier deputies at his home. He was charged with battery/domestic violence and child abuse without great harm, and is being held for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a report said.

When deputies responded to a call about a woman locked out of her home following a fight with her husband, they found a woman holding her baby, a report states.

The woman, whose name was crossed out in reports, told deputies her husband has been drinking heavily for the past week and became violent in the last three days, punching her in the head and face with a closed fist.

Occasionally, she said, he would miss her and end up striking their baby while she was holding the girl, whose name also was redacted.

She said Lopez Mendez forced her out of the house while holding the baby, the report states, and told deputies she had reported her husband for abuse while they were living in Georgia, but she didn’t do so in Collier County out of fear for her safety and that of their daughter.

While being taken into custody, the report states, Lopez Mendez tried to swing his free arm to hit his wife, while being escorted through their house by a deputy.

DUI arrests

Frogel Reyes, 32, of 707 Colorado Ave., Immokalee, was arrested by Collier deputies Thursday at the intersection of South Ninth Street and Boston Avenue. He also was charged with driving without a valid license and is being held for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.


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