A man reportedly tried to drown his wife in the ocean in Key West Tuesday afternoon. At about 5:30 p.m., someone flagged down Key West Police Officer Ernest DeLoach as he was patrolling along Smathers Beach. DeLoach was told a man had followed a woman into the water, pulled her head under water and held her for one or two minutes before she struggled free. Other people said she ran across the road and into the mangroves by the Bridle Path.
DeLoach found the man there, yelling into the mangroves at the woman. They were both wet and the woman was wearing only underpants. She reportedly told DeLoach she and her husband had been drinking and got into an argument. She said she ran into the water, he followed her still yelling, and then he tried to drown her. DeLoach arrested Charles Howard, 29, for domestic battery.