Not-so-happy new year when girlfriend intercepts text message

Late one night earlier this month, Bibb County sheriff’s deputies were sent to an argument on Cochran Avenue in east Macon’s Fort Hill neighborhood. The Jan. 4 incident involved a man and woman fighting about a text message the man had received from someone a sheriff’s report described as his “lady friend.” The message was one “wishing him happy New Year 2017,” the report noted. The man, 52, said that after his girlfriend, 43, grabbed his phone and saw the message, she “jumped him and scratched his face and ripped his shirt.” The man’s face “was bleeding and his blue shirt was ripped,” the report added. The woman said the man had jumped on her first. Deputies had been sent to the couple’s house 20 times to mediate disputes. Both were arrested on battery charges.

This story was originally published January 19, 2017 at 1:00 AM with the headline "Not-so-happy new year when girlfriend intercepts text message."