A 24-year-old Margate man was arrested after a confrontation at the Tamarac Square Shopping Plaza that ended with bystanders pulling him away from two women, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded on Oct. 2 to the 5263 block of North State Road 7 after a report of a battery. According to the arrest affidavit, Kendrick Jean Baptiste had agreed to meet his girlfriend to return some of his belongings. Investigators said he became upset, grabbed the woman by the neck and choked her. She was pregnant with his child, and he knew it, the affidavit states.
A 16-year-old girl tried to step in, police said. She told investigators that Baptiste turned on her and hit her several times with a closed fist, including blows to her face and jaw, before he choked her too.
Several people in the parking lot separated Baptiste from the victims before deputies arrived. They have not been identified in the records. Baptiste was taken to the Broward County Main Jail.
The case highlights a violent incident in a busy retail center on North State Road 7, and the quick action of people nearby may have prevented more injuries.
