HOMESTEAD, Fla. — A 43-year-old Homestead woman was arrested Wednesday night after police said she assaulted her daughter during an argument.

Jail records show Martha Juliana Mendoza was taken into custody just after 11 p.m. near the 900 block of Northeast 41st Avenue.

Officers with the Homestead Police Department said they responded to reports of a domestic battery and made contact with the victim, who said she and her mother were involved in a fight.

The victim told police she had informed her mother via text that she was going to Target with a friend. While she was out, her mother repeatedly texted her asking where she was and telling her to come home, the report stated.

Police said when the victim returned home, she claimed that her mother met her at the front door, grabbed her by the hair, and pulled her inside because she believed the girl was “being disrespectful.”

Once inside the home, the victim, whose age wasn’t released, told officers that her mother began hitting her head against a wall just inside the door, according to the report.

The girl said her mother then pulled her by the hair into the kitchen, sat on her chest while holding her hair, and restricted her breathing, the report stated.

The victim told police that she pulled her mother’s hair in self-defense to get her off and could breathe again. After her mother got off her chest, the two continued arguing, according to police.

Investigators said the victim also told officers her mother grabbed a mop and attempted to hit her with it, prompting her to again pull her mother’s hair to stop her.

They said Mendoza then called 911.

After being read her Miranda rights, she agreed to speak with officers without an attorney present, the report stated.

Mendoza admitted pulling her daughter’s hair while the girl was laughing and said she sat on top of her and wrapped her arms around her while they were on the kitchen floor, but denied sitting on her chest.

She also admitted grabbing a mop but said she did not strike her daughter with it, according to the report.

Officers noted “visible redness” on the daughter’s face. However, both parties declined medical attention.

Based on the statements and evidence at the scene, including items on the kitchen floor that appeared consistent with a struggle, officers determined there was probable cause to arrest Mendoza on a charge of domestic battery.

Jail records show Mendoza is facing one count each of battery by strangulation, aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony and child abuse without great bodily harm.

Police said child welfare authorities were notified.

As of Thursday, Mendoza was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where her bond was listed as “to be set.”

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