Patrick Bentley

Name:
Bentley, Patrick Tyler

Date of Booking:
04/01/2025

Reason(s) For Booking:
Cruelty to children-child less than 18yoa present/hears act – 3rd degree (misd)

Battery/Simple Battery Family Violence

Disorderly Conduct

Cruelty to Children-1st degree-(fel)

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 04/01/2025 at about 00:40 Hours I, Deputy R. Hammontree, and Deputy Burch were dispatched to [2200 BLOCK] Ballground Rd in reference to a physical disturbance between Patrick Bentley and [VICTIM #1].

I spoke with Patrick about what happened between him and [VICTIM #1], and he stated that she had woken him up because she was mad at him. I asked him what she was mad about and he stated that she was upset over custody issues with the Juveniles and that she placed the Juveniles in her vehicle and left the residence. I asked him what made her get that upset to leave with the kids. He stated, “We got into a disagreement”. I asked him what the disagreement was about and he stated “I served in the war in Iraq in 2015 and I am on disability and support my children”. I then asked him again what disagreement did him and his wife had that made her want to leave the residence. He then stated that she did not like the way he disciplined the Juveniles. I asked him in what way he disciplined them and what led to him doing so. He stated that Juvenile 1 was bossing around Juvenile 2 and that he spanked Juvenile 1 and put Juvenile 2 in time out. He also informed me that both of them were fighting with each other before this had happened. He also informed me that his kids mean so much to him that he has nothing else to live for without them in his life. I advised him that no matter what the outcome is from this situation is that his 2 kids are the biggest reason for him to live and to always keep that in mind.

While speaking with Patrick I noticed an odor of alcohol coming from him and how he was stumbling in his steps and how he would be highly upset while he was talking to being somewhat calm while he was explaining the situation to me. I asked him if he had any Alcohol to drink and he expressed that he had 4 beers before all this took place. He kept expressing that he served in the military and that he supported his kids and how much he loved them. Anytime I asked him about what happened between him and his Girlfriend [VICTIM #1] he would avoid answering the questions and talk about his service in the Army. I then explained to him that I would be going to speak with [VICTIM #1] to get her side of the story to gather all the information and determine what happened.

Myself and Deputy Burch went to [200 BLOCK] Dead End Rd to speak with [VICTIM #1] and she advised that Patric had been drinking moonshine and he urinated on the kitchen floor mistaking it for the restroom. She stated that she told him to clean it up and that was when he became highly upset with her and pushed her against the kitchen cabinets. She stated she woke up the juveniles to leave for her mother’s house. She stated that she was holding Juvenile 2 when he grabbed both of her wrists to prevent her from leaving. She attempted to push him away and that was when he struck her and Juvenile 2 with several open hand strikes. She stated that Juvenile 1 was already inside the vehicle when this happened. When she got away from him she placed Juvenile 2 inside the vehicle and called her mom to inform her what was going on. That was when Patrick opened the vehicle door attempting to get her to stay. She advised that he struck her several more times with an open-hand strike. She advised that she got him to back off and shut the door to her vehicle which caused minor damage to his middle finger on his right hand. [VICTIM #1] advised that Juvenile 1 witnessed the incident that took place inside of her vehicle.

I spoke with Juvenile 1 about what happened and he stated he was sitting in his mom’s vehicle when he saw his dad (Patrick) outside of the driver’s door striking his mom with an open-hand strike. I asked him where he was sitting in his mom’s vehicle and he stated he was sitting in the seat behind hers.

I gave [VICTIM #1] a Domestic Violence Outreach booklet along with a business card and informed her to reach out to them in reference to this situation along with a case number to take to superior court for a TPO against Patrick in reference to this case.

Myself and Deputy Burch and SFC Watson went back to [2200 BLOCK] Ballground Rd to speak with Patrick about the new information that was obtained from [VICTIM #1] and Juvenile 1. When we arrived on scene and made contact with him, I placed Patrick in handcuffs while checking for proper fitting and double-locking them. Before we placed Patrick in the back of my patrol car he made some statements such as he was glad that we did come back to his residence to take him to jail and did not need to be alone. I then escorted him to the back of my patrol car and read him his Miranda Warning and after doing so, he did not want to speak to us about the case. I then escorted him to the jail and before we arrived, he headbutted the front part of my cage and made the statement that we need to put a bullet in his head because he has nothing else to live for. After our arrival, I informed the jail of his statements and he was placed on suicide watch in the jail. The jail also retrieved a vape pen from his personal that had THC juice inside of it. The vape Pen would be submitted into evidence to be destroyed. Patrick was turned over to the booking staff without incident.

I observed [VICTIM #1] sustained minor injuries to her neck area and Juvenile 2 sustained minor injuries to his left ear area.

Patrick was charged with
O.C.G.A 16-11-39 Disorderly Conduct.
O.C.G.A 16-5-70 Cruelty to Children in the 1st degree.
O.C.G.A 16-5-70(D)(2) Cruelty to Children in the 3rd
O.C.G.A 16-5-23.1(F)(1) Batter FV.

Georgia Child Services was contacted in reference to this case.

[End of Narrative]