MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – A Monroe County Sheriff's Office detention deputy was arrested Friday in Miami Gardens for slapping an ex-girlfriend with whom he shares a child, Sheriff's Office spokesman Adam Linhardt said Tuesday in an email.
Jatavi Wendall Lee, 34, of Miami, faces charges of misdemeanor battery and theft.
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Authorities said Lee was picking up his child from day care Friday when the former couple ran into one another.
Police said the victim was with her present boyfriend. Lee became upset and slapped the woman on the face, authorities said.
Police said he then followed the victim and her new boyfriend to a gas station, removed the victim's license plate from her vehicle and threatened to shoot her and her boyfriend.
Authorities said he did not display a firearm when making the threat.
Linhardt said a Miami Gardens police officer contacted Lee after the incident, and he admitted to arguing with his ex-girlfriend and removing the license plate because, he claimed, it belonged to him.
Lee denied hitting the woman or threatening to shoot anyone, Linhardt said.
Linhardt said Lee is assigned to the Stock Island Jail.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office has opened an internal affairs investigation into the incident.
Lee was hired on Feb. 13, 2017.