Karen Leonard

Name:
Leonard, Karen Beth

Date of Booking:
06/12/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
SIMPLE BATTERY – FAMILY VIOLENCE

CRUELTY TO CHILDREN-3RD DEGREE

CRUELTY TO CHILDREN3RD DEGREE

CRUELTY TO CHILDREN-3RD DEGREE

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

On Friday at approximately 1025 Hours I responded to [REDACTED] in reference to a Domestic Disturbance.

Upon arrival, I spoke with [VICTIM #1], who said that he had been in a physical altercation with his wife Karen Leonard this morning. [VICTIM #1] said his wife had been at odds with the rest of the family for several days, including their children [REDACTED BY AGENCY] (juvenile), [REDACTED], and [REDACTED BY AGENCY] (juvenile). [VICTIM #1] said this morning at approximately 1000 Hours Karen had asked for the keys to their rental car. [VICTIM #1] declined because he felt Karen was just taking the car as part of her ongoing episode in order to spite the family. The couple also had their 5 children staying in the house.

At the time of the request [VICTIM #1] had been in the bathroom showering with the door locked. When he left the bathroom, Karen again asked for the keys and he declined. Karen then tried taking the keys out of [VICTIM #1]’s pants pocket but was unsuccessful. [VICTIM #1] then walked away from Karen, and she followed him, demanding the keys and kicking him in his calves as he went down the stairs.

I observed a small mark on [VICTIM #1]’s left calf which appeared to be caused by Karen’s toes scratching [VICTIM #1]’s dry calf skin. I took a photo of the mark and uploaded it to Evidence.com. [VICTIM #1] said the argument continued and at one point Karen struck [VICTIM #1] in his groin with her knee. [VICTIM #1] told his daughters to call police, and [REDACTED] did so.

The children listed gave the same account of events, and said they had witnessed the simple battery. They said that after law enforcement was called, Karen’s mood changed entirely, and said she had calmly asked for a rental car so that she could go home to Ohio by herself. The children said Karen had refused their requests for a mental health evaluation in the past, and that these irritable episodes were a regular occurrence.

I spoke with Karen who said that during their trip she had become increasingly frustrated with her family, citing one instance at a sandwich shop where food had gotten stuck in her esophagus, and after she cleared that up her family had said things to her which frustated her further. She also said that the family had been taking a trip to the beach with [VICTIM #1] driving. [VICTIM #1] took wrong turn, prolonging the drive. Karen said this caused her to urinate in the car, further frustrating her. Karen asked for the keys this morning to go purchase a phone charger. Karen said she got frustrated and kicked and kneed [VICTIM #1] when he declined. While I was speaking with Karen, she appeared to be calm, truthful, and cooperative.

I informed and arrested Karen for Simple Battery F.V.A. and Cruelty to Children 3rd Degree (X2). I placed Karen in handcuffs behind her back and double-locked them. I placed Karen in the back seat of my patrol car and secured the seatbelt over her. I transported Karen to the Glynn County Detention Center where she was booked for the listed charges and released to the jail staff.

[End of Narrative]