Police accuse Beaufort man of assaulting his girlfriend. His ex-wife comes to his defense
A Beaufort man who police accused of severely beating his girlfriend, causing a possible brain bleed, was protecting himself, according to the man’s ex-wife.
Gerardo Laurido Jordan, 31, was charged with first-degree assault and battery, jail records show.
Port Royal police were called to a house on Combahee Way in the Shadow Moss neighborhood at around 11:17 p.m. Aug. 13 and later met with a woman and man at Beaufort Memorial Hospital. The two reported they had been beaten by the woman’s boyfriend, identified as Laurido Jordan.
The two told police they had been at Station 300 in Bluffton when Laurido Jordan began to argue with the woman as they were leaving in his car. The other man, reported that he defended the woman and that he and Laurido Jordan began fighting.
When the group got home, the woman said Laurido Jordan attacked her. The woman, police said in the report, had a small amount of bleeding on the brain after the incident.
Laurido Jordan was charged on Aug. 15 and bonded out later that same day, according to jail records.
His ex-wife, Brittany Laurido, said the group was at Station 300 to celebrate her son’s birthday. She identified the other man in the car as Laurido Jordan’s brother. The woman told an Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette reporter that she believes the charges are unfair and that the girlfriend “instigated the fight.” Her ex-husband had bruising on his face, scratch marks and a bite mark on his chest, she said.
“She pushed him and hit his face and I could hear Gerardo telling her to stop,” Brittany Laurido said. “He was walking backward and she kept attacking him.”
As of Wednesday, there has been no change in the case and no further charges are being sought, according to Capt. John Griffith, a spokesman for the Port Royal Police Department.
If you or someone you know has been affected by domestic violence, help can be found by calling Hopeful Horizons at (843) 770-1070.
