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Lawyer specializing in domestic violence cases arrested on domestic violence charge

TAVARES, Fla. — A Tavares attorney who specializes in protecting victims of domestic violence was arrested in Lake County on a domestic violence charge.

Deputies said Barrett Burnette stalked his ex-girlfriend and vandalized her Orange County home and car Tuesday.

Burnette ripped out a flagpole and used it to smash a taillight on the car before he threw the flagpole through a window of the home, an arrest report said.

Investigators said a woman in the home told them she thought Burnette was trying to break in to kill her.

The suspect is also accused of throwing a vodka bottle through a car window.

Deputies said Burnette's ex-girlfriend told them the pair were in an on-again-off-again relationship for 10 years.

The woman said she broke up with him July 2 because he beat her and took her cellphone, the report said.

Investigators said she told them he has been involved in three domestic violence incidents in the last week.

Deputies said Burnette drove to Lake County, where he was arrested.

When Channel 9's Samantha Manning called Burnette's office Wednesday, a woman who answered the phone said he had no comment before hanging up.

Court records said Burnette was previously charged with stalking his ex-girlfriend in 2016.

Records said that case was closed, but it is unclear if the case was dropped or how it ended.