Argument over TV remote lands Carson City man in jail
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Thu, 10/18/2012 - 11:02pm
A Carson City man faces a misdemeanor domestic battery charge after he and his girlfriend got into an argument over the TV remote after they had been drinking.
The 53-year-old man told authorities that he slapped the remote out of his girlfriend's hands and grabbed her wrists after she complained that he watched too much television.
Deputies were called to the 600 block of Armory Way on Oct. 16 after the daughter of the woman in the incident called authorities from Vacaville, Calif., saying her mother had been battered.
Two deputies responded to the address 6:57 p.m. and made contact with the woman. According to the arrest report she told deputies that she works full time to pay the bills and her boyfriend has been out of work and just sits around and watches cable TV all day.
The woman explained that the two had been drinking and that she took the remote from her boyfriend while he was watching a TV show because she wanted to activate the cable program guide screen to find a show she could watch on the other television in the bedroom. She said she needed the remote because their other television didn't have a TV guide feature. She explained to deputies that he was still able to watch the TV show he was watching while the guide was activated.
The woman told deputies that her boyfriend became angry after she took the remote and then told him that he watches TV all day and she pays the bills and if she's paying the bills she should be able to use the remote, the arrest report stated.
The woman said her boyfriend became upset and stood over her as she sat on the couch and demanded the remote back. She refused to give it to him and so he hit her with an open right hand on her left hand, knocking the remote to the floor, the report states. She said that he then grabbed both of her wrists with his hands and held her tightly for a few seconds. She said she warned him to let go or she would call 911. The man told her to go ahead and call 911 and then he let her go.
Another deputy spoke with the man who appeared intoxicated and upset. He grumbled about how the woman makes things a big deal and was uncooperative with questions asked of him. The man was cuffed and taken to jail. The arresting deputy then read him his rights and asked if he wanted to speak in detail about the incident. The man agreed, the arrest report stated.
The man told the deputy they had been a couple for eight years and there is a long history of her taking the remote when he is watching a TV program. He said his girlfriend took the remote and turned on the guide in the middle of his show. He said he told her to turn the guide off because he was in the middle of the program. He said that she made the comment about him being home all day watching TV all day. He said he became angry and swatted the TV remote out of her hand with his open right hand when she wouldn't turn it over, the report states.
He told the deputy that he stood over the woman as she sat on the couch and grabbed her by both wrists and held her for a moment as they yelled at each other. He said he let her go when she threatened to call the police. He said he did not hurt the woman and let her go when she told him to let her go.
Photographs were taken of the woman's wrists in which authorities did not observe any injury, the arrest report states. The man was being held on $3,000 bail and faces a charge of domestic battery.
