Two separate incidents on Thursday and Saturday involving two unrelated couples led to the arrests of a Flagler Beach man and a Palm Coast woman when each was alleged to escalate a domestic spat into violent acts involving children.
On Thursday (April 3), a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to a house on Squash Blossom Court in Palm Coast following reports that Ruth Ann Dubber, 34, had become belligerent and physically violent towards her husband and her two daughters, ages 9 and 4.
Dubber’s husband had reported the incident to 911. Dubber herself had driven away when a deputy arrived. The deputy was shown to the master bedroom, “which was completely ransacked,” the deputy’s report states. “I observed glass picture frames smashed on the floor and all the racks and clothes had been ripped out of the closet.” Dubber’s 41-year-old husband was reported to be very upset and having difficulties relating what had just taken place. He said that “when he returned home this evening from work, his wife was obviously intoxicated and aggressive towards him.” He described his wife as an alcoholic who’s also been prescribed medication for her depression. He claimed his wife “slapped him open handed in the face, as well as scratched him on both forearms” before threatening to kill him, then allegedly scratching the couple’s 9-year-old daughter under the chin, grabbing her by the front of her shirt and throwing her on the couch.
Afterwards, the husband said, his wife grabbed his rifle and threw it into the ditch. He said Dubber “never threatened to use the rifle and that she only wished to cause damage to the rifle due to the sentimental value of the rifle.” The rifle was not loaded, and there was no ammunition anywhere in the house, the husband told police.
Once the call was placed to 911, Dubber left, and a be-on-the-lookout was issued for a silver Yukon. The Department of Children and Families was informed of the situation, Dubber was arrested the following day, and booked at the Flagler County jail on a count of domestic battery violence and a count of child abuse that evening. She made bail on $2,000 bond and was released.
The second, unrelated incident took place on South Central Avenue in Flagler Beach just past midnight on Saturday.
The victim told Flagler Beach police that she and her boyfriend of eight years, William Colaci, 25, had a verbal argument that quickly turned violent moments later, according to Colaci’s arrest report.
The victim said that when the argument escalated, she grabbed her three children and made her way to her car. Colaci, she said, was throwing things at her, and allegedly struck her with an object in the back of the head. Once she got all three children in the car and started driving off, she claims Colaci threw what turned out to be a garbage can at the car, shattering the rear driver-side window. “As the window shattered, the shards of glass covered the 7-year-old child, causing cuts on both her elbows,” the report states. A witness corroborated the account.
A rescue unit was called in to treat the injuries.
Colaci told police that as the victim was trying to leave, “he smacked on the glass of the vehicle, shattering it,” all the while knowing that his daughter was in the back seat. Colaci was jailed on a charge of battery domestic violence and a charge of child abuse. He posted bail on $3,000 bond.
A.S.F. says
Dear Mr. Dubber–I don’t care what kind of “sentimental value” your guns hold for you. For the sake of your children, please remove any firearms or other weapons (and, needless to say, alcohol, drugs or associated paraphenalia) from any areas (including cars, trucks, houses, apartments, etc.) where she may be for any length of time with your children. I sincerely hope for everyone’s sake that Mrs. Dubber gets the treatment she obviously and desperately needs. For the sake of all of these children, I hope that Child Protective Services will fully evaluate and closely monitor both these situations.
jake spicer says
A.S.F- Does it not clearly say in the article that the rifle was not loaded and there was no ammunition anywhere in the house?
Please tell me if I’m wrong, but that rifle was/is completely harmless at that point.