GIFFORD — A dispute over partially eaten mangos led a teenager to repeatedly punch his eight-week pregnant cousin and toss her into a glass picture frame at their home, authorities said.
Deputies arrested the teen, 16, and charged him with aggravated battery. Details on if the teenager is being held at the county jail or was taken to a juvenile detention center were not immediately available.
Deputies responded to a disturbance about 8:51 a.m. April 13 at a home in the 4600 block of 49th Avenue. Deputies spoke with the victim, a girl, who had blood on her clothes and swelling to her face.
The girl, who declined medical treatment, told deputies she lives at the home with her grandmother and her 16-year-old cousin. She said she bought mangos from the store the day before. The next morning, she noticed her cousin ate a portion of the fruits.
The girl called her sister, who lives in Miami, on iPhone’s Facetime video. While still on the Facetime call, she confronted the 16-year-old about the mangos.
The two began to argue when the teen climbed on a couch and swung at the girl, an arrest report shows. The girl swung back in self-defense, deputies said.
The teen punched the girl in the face, grabbed her by the upper body and swung her toward the kitchen into a glass picture frame, deputies said. The two fell to the ground while the teen continued to punch her.
Deputies saw blood splattered on the wall at the home. They spoke with the teen and his mother at the Sheriff’s Office soon after.
The teen told deputies he and the girl got in an argument when the girl pushed him and began punching him in the face. Deputies did not see any facial injuries on the teen. The teen admitted he knew the girl was pregnant.
Deputies arrested the teen. No details on a court date have been released.
