VERO BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A Port St. Lucie man is accused of striking the mother of his children with a vehicle and driving several houses down the street while she was on the hood, according to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.
Brandon Isaiah Martin, 24, was arrested Sept. 2 on an outstanding warrant charging him with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. The warrant identifies a motor vehicle as the alleged weapon.
The charge stems from an April 28, 2025, incident on 26th Court Southwest in Vero Beach, court records show.
Deputies said the woman went to the home after a friend told her Martin was there removing property. The woman told deputies Martin was attempting to leave with their two children. The pair had joint custody but no formal custody documentation, according to the probable cause affidavit.
As the woman was placing one of the children into another vehicle, Martin allegedly drove a silver Kia Soul toward her and struck her, causing her to land on the hood, deputies wrote.
The woman told deputies Martin continued driving with her on the hood for about four or five houses. She said she heard him threaten to kill her, according to the affidavit.
The vehicle stopped after Martin’s mother, who was in the front passenger seat, put it in neutral, deputies said. The woman was able to get off the hood and told deputies she feared for her life.
A witness told deputies she saw Martin drive toward the woman, strike her and continue down the street with the woman still on the hood. Deputies documented abrasions to the woman’s knees, records show.
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A judge approved the warrant May 5, 2025, and set Martin’s bond at $50,000. The order also prohibits him from contacting the woman and requires him to stay specified distances away from her, her home, workplace and vehicle.
Deputies served Martin with the warrant at a Vero Beach address on Sept. 2. Jail records show he later posted bond.