A judge has denied a request for the dismissal against a Florida man allegedly caught on security footage abusing his daughter and her dog.
Okaloosa County Circuit Court Judge John J. Gontarek denied the request to drop a domestic violence injunction filed by his former wife, Allison Tringas. According to court documents, Tringas filed the injunction on January 2, following security footage of Becnel.
NWF Daily News reports that attorney Susan Stanford filed the motion for dismissal on Tringas’ behalf. Tringa apparently changed her mind about the injunction since there are two additional orders that currently prevent the suspect from contacting the victim.
“We just really didn’t want to deal with overkill,” Stanford told the outlet.
Gontarek added that he would discuss the injunction further after a decision is made on Becnel’s criminal case.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Becnel was arrested on child abuse and animal cruelty charges after his daughter secretly recorded him in their Destin home.
An Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office arrest report indicated that the victim took the video to authorities on December 24. The video allegedly painted a disturbing picture of what went on at the home behind closed doors.
The incident started when the victim intervened after Becnel threatened to cut the family dog’s eyeballs out and “strangle the mother f*****.” He then allegedly picked the pup up by the throat and slammed it on the ground.
As the teen tried to protect her pet, her father grabbed her by the hair and pushed her. She ended up hitting her head on the headboard of a bed. A second part of the video shows the suspect with his hand still grabbing the girl’s hair. While screaming at the teen, Becnel then headbutted her.
According to the petition, Becnel is accused of being drunk when he confronted the teen. He allegedly replied “maybe” when the girl asked if he planned to kill her.
The man is also accused of taking the girl’s cellphone away and stopping her from leaving the home.
″(She) escaped Damon’s house while he was asleep and walked miles to Walmart in Destin, purchased a burner phone and called her babysitter,” the petition read.
The petition indicated that Beclen threatened the teen following his arrest. He had his lawyer contact the teen and warn her that she will end up in foster care if she continued to talk about the alleged abuse, according to court documents.
Further, he’s accused of previous domestic violence issues, a history of mental health issues, drug and alcohol problems, and owning numerous guns.
Since the filing of the petition, numerous judges have recused themselves from the case. Judge John J. Gontarek is currently presiding over both civil and criminal cases.
Beclen is reportedly the managing partner of 26 businesses, including the Sandestin Police Department Inc. Court records show he filed for divorce from Tringas in 2005. Since then, they’ve had an ongoing custody battle until 2016.
In response to the petition, Becnel’s lawyer claimed that it “contains outright fabrications and will be opposed separately and on the merits or lack thereof.”
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[Featured Photo: Damon Becnel/Police Handout]
