Christmas Tree Dispute Ends With Man's Arrest For Domestic Battery, Cops Say

A domestic argument over whether to purchase a Christmas tree turned violent, resulting in the arrest of a Florida Man for allegedly battering his girlfriend, according to a police report.

Cops allege that Levi Metcalf, 31, intentionally elbowed the 36-year-old victim in the face “during an argument over a Christmas tree” Wednesday afternoon in the couple’s St. Petersburg residence.

Metcalf’s girlfriend told police that “she wanted to buy a Christmas tree for their apartment and [Metcalf] did not want to buy a Christmas tree.”

After being read his rights, Metcalf reportedly admitted to striking the victim in the face with his elbow during the tree dispute, but “claimed it was accidental.” The blow left the woman with “visible swelling on the right cheek of her face,” cops say.

Metcalf, seen above, was arrested on a battery charge and booked into the county jail (from which he was later released on his own recognizance). Metcalf, who has pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor count, has been outfitted with a GPS monitor and ordered by a judge to have no contact with the victim.

While the Christmas tree incident prompted “the second police response to the home of the couple for the day,” the report does not indicate why officers were at the residence earlier that day.