BEREA, OH — A 17-year-old Oberlin boy was arrested on August 14 after punching, slapping, and choking his live-in girlfriend in a moving car.
The boy and woman were part of a four-person DoorDash team that delivered food to various homes around 2 a.m.
Police on patrol southbound on Barrett Road were following the car. By that point, the boy had exited the vehicle.
Police became concerned when the car suddenly reversed toward their cruiser.
The car turned right onto West Bagley. Police followed the vehicle as it parked outside Nam Wah Chinese & Vietnamese Cuisine, 392 W. Bagley Road.
The boy’s girlfriend, 19, stepped out of the car and cried. She and her two passengers told police this story:
The woman was driving the DoorDash car when she and one of the passengers got into an argument, which irritated the boy.
He pushed and slapped the woman before biting her arm.
The boy grabbed the woman’s cellphone. She stopped the car to retrieve the phone, which she needed for directions.
The boy and woman got out of the car.
To prevent the boy from walking away with her phone, the woman grabbed and ripped off his shirt. He punched her in the face.
One of the passengers took over driving the vehicle. The boy sat in the backseat, behind the woman in the front passenger seat.
The DoorDash team entered the Sandstone Ridge subdivision in Berea. The boy continued to hit and push the woman in the car.
The boy put his hands around the woman’s neck from behind and choked her.
The driver and the other two passengers kicked the boy out of the car before driving away.
Police discovered that a male suspect matching the boy’s description had asked a citizen if he could use her phone near the CVS Pharmacy on Bagley and Front Streets.
The citizen instructed the boy to use the phone at CVS.
Police apprehended the boy at CVS and placed him in handcuffs.
The Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center, however, was unable to take him into custody because the assault was classified as a minor offense.
Police handed the boy over to his grandmother in Oberlin. They informed him that he would face additional charges if he attempted to contact the woman.
Police discovered that one of the car’s passengers, a 19-year-old Cleveland woman, was wanted on felony charges. They suggested she turn herself in.
