Polk County Sheriff's deputies say they arrived at a Lake Wales home on June 20 to find 20-year-old Gerber Alexander Bamaca Perez standing over his screaming, pregnant girlfriend with his fists clenched. By the time he was taken into custody, deputies say he had beaten the woman, thrown her 18-month-old child to the ground, and snatched her phone away as she tried to call 911.
According to the arrest affidavit obtained by West Orlando News, the woman was 27 weeks pregnant with Bamaca Perez's child at the time of the attack. Local law enforcement says she suffered significant bruising to her face, throat, and torso after he beat her with his fists and choked her, while deputies say the toddler had no visible injuries despite being slammed onto the ground. Both the woman and the child were taken to a hospital for examination and treatment, per the same account.
Deputies say Bamaca Perez resisted before he was ultimately taken into custody. He now faces a lengthy list of charges: domestic violence aggravated battery on a pregnant victim, abuse of a child without great bodily harm, tampering with a victim, resisting an officer without violence, and possession of counterfeit identification.
Sheriff Judd Says Suspect Admitted to Anger Issues
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the suspect brutally attacked a woman and a toddler, according to the report. Judd also said Bamaca Perez admitted to having anger issues during an interview with special victims unit detectives, the outlet reports. The sheriff added that officials hoped neither victim would suffer permanent physical injuries, per the same account.
The domestic violence aggravated battery charge against Bamaca Perez is especially serious because Florida law automatically elevates battery to a second-degree felony when the victim is known to be pregnant. Under Florida Statutes Section 784.045, that charge alone carries a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in state prison and a $10,000 fine. The tampering charge tied to the interrupted 911 call is also a felony; under Florida Statutes Section 914.22, forcibly preventing a victim from contacting emergency dispatchers during a felony offense is prosecuted as a felony carrying multi-year prison exposure, according to FindLaw.
Additional Charges Carry Years More Exposure
The child abuse charge, filed under Florida Statutes Section 827.03(2)(c), carries up to five years in state prison and a $5,000 fine, per the Florida Senate's statutory language, and applies even though the toddler had no visible injuries. Possession of counterfeit identification is likewise a third-degree felony under Florida Statutes Section 322.212, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The resisting charge is comparatively minor: a first-degree misdemeanor under Florida Statutes Section 843.02, carrying up to one year in county jail and a $1,000 fine.
Bamaca Perez is a Guatemalan man illegally in the United States, according to West Orlando News, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed an immigration hold on him following his arrest. Under federal 287(g) agreements between the Polk County Sheriff's Office and ICE, local authorities can issue Form I-247A detainers to hold non-citizen arrestees for up to 48 hours after local release conditions are met, according to Ilabaca Law. Inmates facing such detainers in Polk County are typically held across three detention facilities in Bartow, Frostproof and Winter Haven, per the same source.
Sheriff Judd's Broader Role in State Immigration Policy
All 67 Florida county sheriffs had signed 287(g) agreements with ICE as of February 2025, following state legislation mandating local law enforcement assistance with federal immigration enforcement, WUSF reported at the time. Judd himself was appointed that same month to advise the State Board of Immigration Enforcement created under Florida Senate Bill 2C, which coordinates local law enforcement support for federal detainers, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay. It remains unclear how the pending state criminal case will proceed relative to any federal deportation action, though local criminal prosecution generally takes precedence before ICE takes physical custody under an I-247A detainer.
This is not the first violent domestic case Sheriff Judd's office has investigated near Lake Wales in recent months. Hoodline previously reported on a golf club beating along SR 60 in April and a separate case involving a man who allegedly broke through a bedroom window earlier this month, both investigated by Polk County deputies.
