Inset: Jonathan Webster (Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The vicinity near Arrow Street and Emerald Avenue where Jonathan Webster is accused of assaulting a pregnant woman (Google Maps).
Authorities apprehended a Florida man last week for allegedly pulling a pregnant woman by her hair and choking her multiple times “in a headlock style” following a dispute with the expectant mother “over noodles and her attitude,” according to the police.
Jonathan Webster, aged 38, faces charges of aggravated battery on a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, witness tampering, resisting an officer without violence, and being a fugitive from justice after he attempted to escape the incident site on foot on August 14, based on his arrest affidavit.
The victim reported to police that she and Webster — currently on probation for manslaughter — supposedly engaged in a quarrel in the kitchen of a Port Charlotte home “they had just relocated to last week” with other individuals referred to as their “family,” according to the affidavit. The specifics of their relationship remain unclear.
“The victim mentioned that the argument began over noodles and her attitude, and it escalated,” the affidavit reveals. “She stated that Jonathan began pressing his fingers against her head aggressively while shouting. Jonathan then seized her hair and started pulling it on both sides of her head. The other family members then attempted to separate them.”
While tussling with family members, Webster reportedly broke free and seized the victim by her hair again, “dragging her” into the hallway. The woman took up a knife “to try and defend herself,” which temporarily deterred Webster, according to the affidavit.
The victim tried getting to her bedroom, but Jonathan followed her and began choking her “in a headlock” for around 30 seconds, according to cops. “Victim advised she was unable to breathe and lost consciousness for a few seconds,” the affidavit says.
“Better not get up,” Webster allegedly told the expectant mother.
Webster left the room and “mentioned something about grabbing a gun,” the affidavit alleges. The woman told police she believed she saw Jonathan with a black handgun but was unable to describe it in further detail, saying he did not display a firearm.
“This is when Jonathan then seemingly kicked the bathroom door and victim walked outside while on the phone with 911,” the affidavit says. “Victim walked across the street, to which Jonathan walked outside while verbal with victim, grabbed her hair again, and grabbed the phone she was on 911 with and threw it on the ground, breaking it.”
Deputies arrived and allegedly found Webster “pulling victim’s hair as if he was trying to pull her back to the other side of the street,” according to police. They yelled at him to stop what he was doing, which he allegedly did.
Interviews with the victim and family members detailed how Webster allegedly started all this by using his finger and thumb — extended in a “finger gun” — to strike the pregnant woman’s face over some noodles, cops say.
Police allegedly found Webster in the area using K-9 units and multiple deputies. He was found on foot near Emerald Avenue and Arrow Street, the affidavit says.
Webster’s manslaughter case stems from an incident in Louisiana. He is due in court on Sept. 22 for his arraignment.
