A Fleming Island man was arrested Saturday and faces charges of a felony domestic battery (due to a prior conviction) and grand theft, deputies say.
Clay Woodall, 20, of Fleming Island, was previously arrested on March 2, 2022, for striking his girlfriend of two years in the face and arm, deputies said. During this incident, Woodall threw the victim’s phone and attempted to fight a witness who intervened to stop the fight, the arrest report said.
It is noted that Woodall and his former girlfriend have a child together and the child was present when Woodall hit the victim in the face and screamed at her in the driver’s seat of the car.
On Saturday, June 3, 2023, Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to the 1700 block of Eagle Branch Court in reference to a battery. Dispatch advised that a female victim stopped a random driver and asked them to call 9-1-1; she said Woodall had left the scene on foot, wearing blue jeans and a white tank top.
Deputies saw Woodall walking along Water Oak Lane and asked where he was going. Woodall told deputies he was taking a walk to “cool down.” It is noted there was a scratch across his chest, which he said was from his dog.
Another deputy made contact with Woodall’s current girlfriend, the victim, (not the same girlfriend from the above-mentioned incident) and radioed for Woodall to be detained in reference to a domestic violence investigation, the arrest report said.
The victim said she had been arguing with Woodall inside his house when he started screaming and became irate. She took her cell phone out to call Woodall’s mother and he instantly grabbed the phone from her hand and threw it down, she said.
As she went to pick up the phone, Woodall shoved her to the ground, she said. Once she got up, she attempted to leave through the front door when Woodall’s Boxer, “Whiskey,” ran outside and started running toward the road.
At this time, Woodall and the victim both left the house to recover the dog. The victim told deputies that she caught the dog and was reluctant to give him back because she feared for the dog’s safety. As she pulled her phone out again to call her mother, Woodall snatched the phone and threw it in the grass, the arrest report said.
She began walking toward the house and told Woodall she was going to call 9-1-1 and he replied by saying “with what phone?” This is when the victim waved down a passing vehicle and asked them to call the sheriff’s office, she said.
The victim had a small scratch on her chest, which she said was also from the dog. Her left bicep had a discolored area with slight inflammation, which she said was caused by Woodall shoving her to the ground.
During Woodall’s interview, he said he was in an argument with his girlfriend at his house. During the argument, he tried to get her out of his house by grabbing her arms and pulling her to the rear sliding glass door. Once he opened the door, he pulled her out of the house by her arms before going back inside.
He said that a few minutes later, she re-entered the house through the front door and began gathering her belongings when the dog got outside. They both left to chase after the dog and, once they caught him, Woodall admitted to taking his girlfriend’s phone. He told deputies he “left it at the park.”
Woodall agreed to relocate to the area he left the phone and directed deputies to a church on Water Oak Lane where the phone was located on a curb in the rear of the church parking lot. The phone was returned to the female victim, undamaged, the arrest report said.
It is noted Woodall and the victim have been in an intimate relationship for the last four months and do not currently live together.
As a result of the investigation, Woodall was arrested for battery due to physically removing the phone from the victim’s possession, shoving her to the ground and for forcefully removing her from the home. He is charged with grand theft for taking the phone and leaving it in an area where it was unlikely to be recovered by the victim, deputies said.
Woodall was transported to Clay County Jail and his bond is set at $30,006.
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