Prosecutors dropped a battery charge against a Key Biscayne man arrested for allegedly hitting his wife at the Oceansound Condominum. The charges were dropped after the spouse said she would not cooperate in her husband’s prosecution.
Police arrested Glenn Peri-Cohen on Oct. 22 after officers arrived at Oceansound Condominum following a call to 911. Paula Peri-Cohen told officers that her husband lunged at her and struck her right cheek during an argument, according to law enforcement records.
Police noted redness on Paula Peri-Cohen’s check and bruising on the wrist, elbow and jaw. She told police she was defending herself, according to the arrest report.
Glenn Peri-Cohen denied striking his spouse and entered a plea of not guilty.
Assistant State Attorney Lindsay Davis in a closeout memo on Wednesday detailed why prosecutors dropped the charge. The State Attorney’s Office reached out to the wife’s attorney three times before hearing that she did not wish to continue the case and that prosecutors did not have permission to speak to her, Davis wrote.
Surveillance – or CCTV – footage from the living room of the couple’s condo unit could also not be accessed by prosecutors as the couple was not talking to authorities, Davis said.
The State Attorney’s Office made several requests to the for a tape of the 911 call, the closeout form indicated.
Without Paula Peri-Cohen’s testimony, the injuries observed by police and photographed “easily could have resulted from non-criminal contact,” the memo stated.
“Without the testifying victim the state cannot introduce the photos, 911 call or CCTV footage or any defendant statements at trial,” Davis wrote. “As a result the state cannot prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt and has no good faith basis to continue with this case.”
Glenn Peri-Cohen’s attorney, Scott Richard Miller, did not return an email seeking comment.
His spouse, however, still faces charges.
Paula Peri-Cohen was arrested for an alleged altercation that occurred Oct. 23 when a child protective services worker came to Oceansound. Peri-Cohen faces one misdemeanor charge for allegedly kicking the DCF worker and two felony charges for resisting arrest with violence.
Her case is set for arraignment on Wednesday.
Paula Peri-Cohen, who is from Colombia, told the Independent that she made a mistake when the DCF worker arrived: “I was kind of freaking out because of the system in the U.S.”
She also said her husband did not hit her.
If you suspect or need to report domestic violence, the State Attorney Domestic Abuse hotline is 305-547-0140
Invest in Local News for Your Town. Your Gift is tax-deductible
JOHN PACENTI is the executive editor of the Key Biscayne Independent. John has worked for The Associated Press, the Palm Beach Post, Daily Business Review, and WPTV-TV.