Inset: William A. Lamkin (Broward County Jail). Background: The area in Florida where he allegedly attacked his girlfriend in front of her young son (Google Maps).
A 45-year-old man in Florida is accused of threatening to "murder" his girlfriend during a drunken attack in front of the woman's 10-year-old son, sending the boy fleeing to his father and prompting his mother to later tell deputies, "He will kill me, he's a psycho."
William Adam Lamkin was arrested Tuesday in Broward County and charged with one count each of domestic assault, domestic battery and resisting an officer with violence, records show.
According to a probable cause affidavit from the Broward County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded shortly before 7:30 p.m. to a home on Red Heart Lane in Tamarac after the boy's father called 911 regarding a "suspicious incident" involving a child. The father said his son called him while standing outside a neighbor's residence because he believed he was being followed, the affidavit states.
The boy told deputies he had been home when his mother returned with "some bottles of alcohol." Shortly afterward, she and Lamkin began arguing before the confrontation turned physical.
"The child stated that his mother told him William had grabbed her by the shirt and said he was going to murder her," police wrote in the affidavit. "The child advised that he became frightened, ran out of the residence, and called his father."
When deputies contacted the woman outside the residence, she initially appeared reluctant to discuss what happened before becoming visibly shaken after learning officers had already spoken with her son, court records say.
"[The mother] stated that while she was shopping at Publix, she received several text messages from William Lamkin asking where she was and demanding she return home immediately," the affidavit says.
After she arrived, Lamkin allegedly approached her vehicle, ordered her back into the driver's seat, then "pushed her against the seat, stepped back and punched her in the arm."
Lamkin allegedly stated: "I am going to ask you this question one time and one time only, and every time you give me that b— answer, I will punch you again."
Neighbors attempted to intervene as Lamkin became increasingly agitated and appeared to move toward them "in an apparent attempt to instigate a confrontation," the affidavit says. The woman eventually went inside with her son, but Lamkin allegedly continued yelling.
The boy became so frightened that he ran away from home, prompting his mother to chase him through the neighborhood until they reached the community pool, where she saw him get into a pickup truck, according to investigators.
The woman confirmed to deputies that Lamkin had grabbed her shirt and "threatened to murder her" while she was sitting in the vehicle. When asked whether she believed he would carry out the threat, she answered, "Of course," according to the affidavit.
While deputies were still at the residence, Lamkin repeatedly called and texted the woman, saying he was returning, investigators wrote. She begged deputies not to leave, telling them, "He will kill me, he's a psycho," while describing what she said was his extensive history of domestic violence in prior relationships.
Lamkin returned moments later but refused to discuss the allegations, allegedly telling deputies, "I didn't do anything wrong so go about your business."
When officers continued trying to speak with him, he allegedly became confrontational, got in deputies' faces, ignored commands, and took what investigators described as a fighting stance before deputies used force to take him into custody.
After being evaluated at a hospital, Lamkin was booked into the Broward County Jail. A judge set his bond at $32,500, records show. It was not immediately clear when Lamkin was scheduled to return to court.