An Osceola County deputy was arrested after a victim of domestic abuse came forward with text messages showing revealing that the deputy attempted to help her abuser, who is the deputy's cousin avoid arrest, Sheriff Marcos López told reporters on Tuesday.
As reported by the Orlando Sentinel, Kevin Encarnación, who was hired in August 2017, was also fired by the agency while he faces third-degree felony charges of official misconduct and being an accessory to the Oct. 2 incident. Encarnación's cousin, Enrique Davis, faces an aggravated assault charge.
"We had a victim of domestic violence who's calling for our help, and now we have a guy who is in my uniform using my equipment trying to help his family member to get away with a crime," López said.
Encarnación Tried to Discredit the Victim Saying She was Mentally Unfit
According to Davis' arrest affidavit, the victim called authorities after Davis threatened to hit her with a brick moments before throwing it into the back passenger window of a pickup truck and leaving. Investigators went to his mother's house the same night but could not locate him.
That may have been due to Encarnación intervention, said Lopez, who added that Encarnación also tried to discredit the victim by claiming she was suffering from mental health problems.
Encarnación Tipped Davis Off with Location of Deputies Out for his Arrest
The victim showed text messages between Encarnación and Davis, in which the now-former deputy tipped off her abuser with the location of deputies as they tried to find him.
"The real hero is the victim," López said. "If she wouldn't have come forward to let us know how she was discovering this information ... we would have probably never known that this guy was putting our officers in danger."
Davis Previously Accused of Abusing the Victim
In March, Davis pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor domestic battery charge after he was accused of punching a relative who told Kissimmee police and deputy sheriffs he was trying to stop Davis from attacking the same victim, according to a report.
Davis was sentenced to probation at the time, but the case was reopened after the arrest in October. He also pleaded no contest in a domestic battery case in 2011, though the identity of the victim is unclear.
