Crime & Safety
Man Faces Burglary, Battery Charges After Ex Refuses to Take Him Back
He forced his way into her home early Wednesday morning.
He went to his ex-girlfriend's apartment and asked her to take him back.
When she refused, deputies say James Gregory Cole Jr., 32, forced his way into the home at 1781 Samurai Point in Lutz and attacked her current boyfriend.
According to a Pasco County complaint affidavit, the woman told Cole to leave several times after he knocked on her door around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3. He refused, then entered the home without her permission and struck the other man in the face, gouging his right eye.
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Post-Miranda, Cole told a deputy he had been drinking before he went to the home, and didn't remember what happened after the woman told him to leave.
"I'm sure whatever they said I did, they aren't lying," Cole said, according to the report. Cole and the woman separated about a month ago, and have a child together, the report stated.
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Cole was arrested and charged with burglary and battery. He remains in the Land O' Lakes jail in lieu of $75,000 bond.
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