Deputies say a domestic disturbance call in Broward County turned into a full-blown nightmare inside a family home, leaving children terrified and a 34-year-old man in handcuffs.
Authorities identified the suspect as Teodaris Soto and say the incident involved threats, destruction of property and children caught in the middle. According to a Broward Sheriff's Office arrest form, the victim told deputies she had picked Soto up after he had been drinking. He initially stayed in the car and sent her text messages saying he wanted her dead, the report states. When she did not respond, he allegedly came into the house yelling that "he would kill her before she ever left him." The arrest form, reviewed by reporters, lists four counts of abuse or cruelty toward a child without great bodily harm and one count of domestic-violence assault, and it notes a confession was redacted. As reported by WPLG Local 10, deputies took the case and the matter is under investigation.
Chaos at the scene, deputies say
Once inside the home, deputies wrote, Soto went on a rampage, destroying property and shattering any sense of safety. The arrest form says he broke glass, ripped TVs from the walls and slammed them to the ground, punched holes in walls and kicked a hole in a children's bedroom door. After forcing his way into that bedroom, he allegedly told family members that "he hoped everyone would die" and repeatedly pointed at a child while saying he hoped that child would die. Those details appear in the arrest form cited by WPLG Local 10.
Charges and custody
The report lists multiple cruelty-to-a-child counts along with a separate domestic-violence assault count. Prosecutors will decide whether to move forward with formal charges, a process that can take some time even in high-intensity cases like this one.
The Broward Sheriff's Office maintains an online arrest-search and booking register that reporters use to confirm custody status; that tool is available at Broward Sheriff's Office, and booking records can lag behind initial incident reports.
What the law says
Florida law defines cruelty toward a child under Florida Statute section 827.03. A person who knowingly or willfully abuses a child without causing great bodily harm generally commits a third-degree felony. Third-degree felonies in Florida can carry penalties including up to five years in prison and fines; see the statute at Florida Statutes and chapter 775 for sentencing rules.
For now, investigators have not released additional public details, and court records will show how prosecutors choose to proceed. Anyone with information about the incident can contact the Broward Sheriff's Office or monitor the public booking register for updates.
