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Friday, March 29, 2024
crime
crime

Mery Cruz-Martinez was arrested Sunday after hitting a 14-year-old girl in her care, according to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office.

Cruz-Martinez, 30, was highly intoxicated with her boyfriend when they began to argue and “act extremely aggressive” at a Hawthorne, Florida, home Sunday around 1 a.m. Cruz-Martinez told the girl in her care to run to Love’s Travel Stop and call 911 because of the fighting, according to the police report.

Cruz-Martinez picked up the girl from the gas station and drove to nearby Hitchcock’s supermarket, still highly intoxicated. The child tried to get out of the car in the Hitchcock’s parking lot but was restrained by Cruz-Martinez, who hit her in the face several times. The child’s clothes were torn in the process, but she escaped and returned to the Love’s, according to the report.

Cruz-Martinez attempted to follow the girl but was greeted by law enforcement when she arrived at Love’s, according to the report.

Cruz-Martinez was charged with two third-degree felonies: cruelty toward a child and neglect of a child without great bodily harm. Cruz-Martinez was released on her own recognizance.Deputies say she struck a child in the face numerous times

Cruz-Martinez

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