[PHOTO CREDIT: Facebook (l) / Lake County Sheriff’s Office (r)]
[Original Publish Date: 04/23/20]
LEESBURG, Florida — A Umatilla Police officer has been suspended with pay, pending an investigation after he was arrested for domestic violence Tuesday.
According to an arrest affidavit, LCSO responded to a convenience store in Leesburg Tuesday and met with Umatilla Police Cpl. Cody Albridge’s wife who said the pair have been having marital problems and were living separately, but see each other often to exchange their children.
The victim told a deputy Albridge came to pick the children up early Tuesday morning so she could go to work; while he was there, she received a text message and Albridge became “angry and argumentative,” the affidavit states. He snatched the phone from her and said, “I am going to find out who this person is, if I catch him I am going to kill him.” She told the deputy he went on to say, “if you make me lose my job over this, I will destroy the house and your truck and it won’t be worth anything when you leave.”
Albridge took her phone and went down a hallway and she followed him and repeatedly asked for it. He allegedly slammed the phone against the wall and when she tried to get the phone he pushed her against the wall. Albridge went outside and threw her phone in the driveway. The victim attempted to get the phone and Albridge ran and picked it up, according to the affidavit. The pair went back to the porch where the victim again asked for her phone and Albridge refused. She tried to grab the phone and Albridge reportedly grabbed her and pushed her and children exited the home and screamed for him to stop.
Albridge did stop and the victim began to gather her things and Albridge grabbed a baseball bat and threatened to destroy her truck, according to the affidavit. He stood by her truck and prevented her from closing the door until she told him she was going to contact law enforcement and obtain an injunction for protection. Albridge became angry and went back into the home and the victim left and contacted LCSO.
The victim had no visible injuries from Tuesday’s incident, but showed a deputy a bruise from a prior altercation a few day earlier. Albridge was questioned and he said he was involved in a verbal argument with the victim and took her phone. He said she pushed him and tried to keep him from leaving and when she told him she wanted to call 9-1-1, he gave the phone back to her. A juvenile witness told police he saw Albridge push the victim “two or three times.”
Albridge was taken into custody and charged with domestic battery. He was released on $500 bond.
Albridge, who has been with Umatilla Police Department since 2014, has been suspended from the department with pay, pending the outcome of the criminal investigation and the department’s own investigation, Umatilla Police Chief Adam Bolton told Lake Legal News.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. 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]
