Man charged in Bluffton assault also accused of injuring another woman, infant son
A man police charged Sunday for allegedly attacking his girlfriend at a Bluffton gas station faces additional charges in a separate incident involving another woman and their infant son, according to the Bluffton Police Department.
Leonard Brown, 35, of Hardeeville, was charged with first-degree assault and battery, kidnapping and first-degree domestic violence, jail records show.
A woman reported that she and her 1-year-old, who she shares with Brown, were attacked by him on Jan. 18, according to Sgt. Bonifacio Perez, a spokesperson for the Bluffton Police Department.
The incident began at the Shell Hall gated community in Bluffton. Brown allegedly drove off with the woman and the child in the car, did not let them get out and physically assaulted them, Perez said. The woman reported the incident to police on Jan. 20.
The woman told police both she and her child were injured. Information about whether they went to the hospital for treatment was not immediately available.
On Saturday, as Bluffton officers were preparing warrants for Brown, he was charged by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office after his girlfriend alleged he had attacked her in the car near a Bluffton Enmarket gas station, Perez said.
In that incident, police were called around 5:30 a.m. after a woman walked into the convenience store with severe facial injuries, according to previous reporting by The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. Brown and at least one other person were waiting in the parking lot and tried to leave when police came over to question them. They were chased and later tried to run away, Maj. Angela Viens said Sunday.
Brown was charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and kidnapping. The person he was with was charged with failure to stop for a blue light and evading arrest.
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette newspapers do not name those charged with misdemeanors.
As of Tuesday, Brown was still in custody at the Beaufort County Detention Center.
If you or someone you know has been affected by domestic violence, help can be found by calling Hopeful Horizons’ 24-hour support line at 843-770-1070.
