[PHOTO CREDITS: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 12/24/19]
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LEESBURG, Florida — A woman who lied to police and told her juvenile daughter to back her story was charged with tampering with a witness and making a false report Saturday.
According to an arrest affidavit, shortly before 2 p.m. Friday, Leesburg Police responded to a home on Harlem Avenue in reference to a burglary and battery. Kengela Charnise Hampton, 26, told police her boyfriend broke her door down, grabbed her neck with both hands and choked her. Hampton said he threw her on the couch and used his body weight to press on her stomach, while choking her. Hampton is 5 months pregnant with twins, the affidavit states.
The woman’s story went on to state that her boyfriend continued to choke and push against her stomach until her daughter demanded for him to stop. Hampton told police the boyfriend then lifted his shirt and showed Hampton a firearm and threatened her, she said. The man took a Playstation 4, and IPhone and cash, and left the residence. Her daughter told police the same story.
On Saturday, while assisting the Department of Children and Families (DCF) with its investigation of the incident, Hampton’s daughter told police they came home Friday to a kicked-in door and found the Playstation 4 and IPhone missing. Hampton told her daughter to call police and while they waited, Hampton became angrier. She told her daughter to lie about what happened. The girl told police Saturday none of the story told Friday was true, and she never saw Hampton’s boyfriend at the home on Friday.
Police questioned Hampton again and she admitted she lied. She told police she was mad at her boyfriend because they disagreed on parenting decisions and he called her names. She told police she thought if she lied, her boyfriend would be arrested and would no longer be in her life.
Hampton was charged with making a false report and tampering with a witness. She is being held at the Lake County Jail on $26,000 bond.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. In addition, she has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
