The combination of a disagreement over a board game and alcohol helped land a Buffalo man in jail

Lawrence Clark Dent, 64, 2223 Buffalo-West Springs Highway, is charged by the Union County Sheriff’s Office with criminal domestic violence.

The victim and a witness told deputies the incident began around 10:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, during a board game at Dent’s home. The victim said the witness told Dent he’d made a mistake in playing the game and he became angry, throwing the dice at her and accusing her of saying he was cheating. The witness said she and her husband left a short time later but not before seeing Dent attack the victim.

The witness told deputies Dent and the victim went out on the deck of the house where she saw the vicim pointing her finger in Dent’s face. She said she saw him grab the victim’s finger and twist her arm.

The victim told deputies Dent slapped her, knocking her glasses off. She said she then grabbed his arms because he had a gun in his pocket and she was afraid he’d use it. He began kicking her and it was then she got away from him.

A deputy was originally dispatched to the scene in response to a report of a domestic dispute. The call, however, didn’t come from the victim or the witness but from Dent himself. The deputy reported that Dent was “highly intoxicated” and told him that he and the victim had gotten into a “physical altercation” and that he’d called the sheriff’s office because he thought she was going to call.

Dent claimed the victim had struck him and he’d held her arms to keep her from attacking him. Both said they’d begun arguing after he’d made negative remarks about her children. It didn’t turn physical, however, until after Dent was corrected about his playing of the board game.

A search of the deck turned up the victim’s glasses and deputies also reported seeing a scratch on the victim’s leg and that she was complaining about being sore from being kicked. Dent was taken into custody and transported to the Union County Jail.

Investigations

The public safety department is searching for the woman who passed two counterfeit $20 bills at Piggly Wiggly Sunday afternoon.

An officer dispatched to the store was told by the complainant that a black female who’d ridden to the store on a bicycle had attempted to get two cashiers to make change for the bills. Rebuffed by both of them, the woman found the third time was the charm when another cashier cashed the bills.

The ink on the bills later faded when water was poured on them. The bills were turned over to the officer as evidence.

Break-In

The public safety department is also investigating the burglary of a Harwood Heights home this past week.

The owner told the responding officer sometime between noon Nov. 15 and just after 8 a.m. Saturday, someone cut the padlock off the garage at 225 Hardwood Heights. He said a number of items were removed from a Ford pickup parked in the building including:

• 2-15-by-7 American racing rims

• 2-15-by-12 Cobra front tires

• Monster tach with shift light

• 3/8 battery impact gun,

• Ford MSD distributor

• MSD ignition box

• 31”-by-19” aluminum radiator with electrict fan

• Carquest battery charger

• Two valve covers

The total value of the items is estimated at $3,020.

Vandalism

An act of vandalism against a moving car is also being investigated by the public safety department.

The incident occurred shortly after 4 p.m. Friday on South Pinckney Street. The victim said she was traveling south when she heard a loud noise and noticed something had just hit her passenger side mirror and broke it. She told the responding officer she’d looked in her rearview mirror and saw a group of black juveniles running from the area where she’d heard the noise.

The officer inspected the mirror and determined it had been struck by a blunt object.

Burglary

The sheriff’s office is investigating the burglary of a business on the Santuc-Carlisle Highway.

More than $500 worth of items were stolen from or were damaged at the R&S Variety Store at 1303 Santuc-Carlisle Highway sometime between 8:30 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday. The complainant told the responding deputy someone had entered the building by smashing in the glass on the front door. The responding officer found a rock by the door which the complainant said had not been there before he assumed was used to break the glass.

The items stolen include:

• Two amplifiers, an XLT 250 watts and a 300 watt ($100)

• Three silver digital cameras ($150)

• Two DVD players, one a Magnavox, ($100)

• A black Ipod, 40 gig ($100)

• A Schumacher battery charger in its original box ($250)

• A Nintendo Game Cube system ($40)

• Four assorted video games ($10)

Damage to the door was estimated at $50.

Harassing Phone Calls

The sheriff’s office is also investigating a report of harassing phone calls.

The victim said between 4 p.m. Sept. 23 and 5 p.m. Sunday, someone has been caling her and saying nothing. This frightened her and she stopped answering her home phone but the person then began calling her cell phone. She said she knows of no one who would be doing this to her and she would like to find who it is that has been calling her.

Arrests

The following persons were arrested by the sheriff’s office:

Rebecca Michelle Austin, 38, 206 Osborne St., Union, charged Sunday with purchase of alcoholic beverage for a minor.

James Williams Walton, 73, 114 Power St., Union, charged Sunday with assault and battery.

Ralph Larry Davis, 59, 921 Linersville Road, Union, charged Sunday with breach of peace.

The following persons were arrested by the public safety department:

Angela Michell Stroud, 34, 274 Sweetwater Drive, Buffalo, charged Saturday with open container.

Kacie Lawson, 30, 3752 Buffalo-West Springs Highway, Union, charged Saturday with shoplifting.

Dennis Dale Willard, 22, 280 Wilson Road, Union, charged Saturday with speeding, driving under suspension and expired tag.

Robbie Todd Leonard, 49, 104 Mill Avenue, Union, charged Saturday with driving under the influence.

Dawlton Cade Peters, 18, 3585 Buffalo-West Springs Highway, Buffalo, charged Friday with shoplifting.

Jessica Rae Levister, 20, 500 Toney Road, Union, charged Sunday with disorderly conduct.