Crime & Public Safety
Margate woman arrested after chld alleges being struck with clothing iron
Broward County, Florida — Margate police say a woman was arrested after officers responded to a 911 hang-up and a chld subsequently reported being struck in the head with a clothing iron at a residence in Margate.
According to the Margate Police Department, officers went to the location following a 911 hang-up call. An officer who called back was told the chld had attempted suicide; the MPD report does not specify the relationship between the chld and the woman.
Medics transported the chld to Broward Health Coral Springs, and the chld told officers she had been hit over the head with a clothing iron during a verbal dispute. The chld described the blow as landing on the left side of her face and said the force caused her to hit a wall, producing a hematoma that “hurt when she touched it,” according to the MPD report.
The chld also told officers she had tried to call 911 but that the woman took the phone away and disconnected the call. Margate police allege the woman, identified in arrest records as Melissa Angelique McAllister, faces two felony counts: aggravated chld abuse and hindering, delaying, or preventing communication to a law enforcement officer.
MPD arrested McAllister and, according to jail records, she was being held in the Broward Main Jail on a $10,000 bond as of the most recent record cited in the report. At this time, the facts presented are those documented by the Margate Police Department and in related booking records; allegations are reported here per the MPD account and have not been presented as proven in court.
All individuals accused of a crime are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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All individuals mentioned in criminal allegations are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.