KANNAPOLIS — Deputies arrested a 23-year-old woman Sunday evening after authorities said a child custody dispute sparked an assault with a deadly weapon charge.
Tasha Nichole Simpson, of Clydesdale Court, told deputies she saw the father of her child, 26-year-old Fidel Velazquez, selling drugs while holding their child, according to a Rowan County Sheriff’s Office report. Authorities said there was no evidence of drugs at the scene.
When Simpson took the child, Velazquez jumped on the hood, the report said, but fell off when the car began moving.
She was charged with assault with a deadly weapon.
The incident happened at Velazquez’s home on Wright Meadow Lane about 2:30 p.m.
Deputies said Simpson was standing by the road when they arrived. She had blood on her neck, the report said, but was not injured.
The report said the 23-year-old came to the house to get her child.
“She thought he was conducting a drug transaction in the yard while holding the child,” the report said.
Simpson grabbed the child and placed it in her car.
After Velazquez jumped onto the hood of the car, deputies said, Simpson “moved the car in a forward motion.”
The report did not indicate how fast or how far the car went.
Velazquez rolled off the passenger side fender, deputies said. He “suffered minor cuts,” the report said, but was complaining of right shoulder pain.
The Department of Social Services was notified, deputies said, and the child was placed in the custody of Simpson’s relative.