A Hot Springs man was arrested Wednesday night on a felony battery charge after allegedly hitting his girlfriend, who is reportedly over 60, with a skillet during an altercation at their residence.
Gardner Lamar Zackery, 51, of 313 Ash St., was taken into custody at his residence shortly after 7:30 p.m. and charged with second-degree domestic battery, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Zackery remained in custody Thursday on zero bond and is set to appear today in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Hot Springs police Officer Morgan Murray responded to the residence regarding a battery and spoke with the female victim, noting she had a swollen area on the right side of her head "that appeared to have bled profusely onto her clothes and jacket" which she had used to dress the wound.
The victim, who also had a laceration on her neck, said Zackery had become angry with her and struck her in the head with a skillet, causing the injury, and then scratched her on the neck.
She noted she and Gardner are in a romantic relationship and the officer noted she was over the age of 60.
Murray spoke to Zackery who stated the victim had "tripped over an air mattress." When Murray asked Zackery to show him where the incident occurred, he was "only able to indicate a general area of where it might have happened," Murray said.
The officer noted there were blood drops on the floor of the room, blood on an armoire and on a floor heating vent. A skillet was found hidden behind a chair in the same room with the blood.
Zackery claimed he had been cooking and that the victim, after she tripped and fell, took the skillet off the stove and planted it where it was found. Murray noted neither the skillet nor the stovetop showed any indication they had been recently used.
Zackery was taken into custody and it was noted he had fresh blood on his pants.
Local on 04/17/2020