Nick Gordon was arrested and charged with domestic violence after a heated altercation with his girlfriend Laura Leal in Florida over the weekend, the second domestic violence arrest for Nick in less than a year. Laura also has an arrest history that includes domestic violence, and she has penned a letter to the judge on behalf of Nick explaining that she is bipolar and “he is not to blame” for the incident.
In case you missed it, Laura told an officer on the scene that she had picked Nick up from a bar and he had hit her in the side of the face repeatedly and pulled her hair as they were driving back to his residence. Nick told officers that he was the one under attack, a claim that seems backed up by his 911 call in which he describes Laura as “insane” as she rips his shirt and throws a bottle at him.
An officer on the scene took Laura’s statement and observed “a visible injury to include slightly swollen lip with dried blood.” Because of her injury, it was Nick who was arrested and charged. Neither Nick nor Laura were willing to press charges in the incident.
“I would like to kindly ask you to lift the no contact order that was placed against Nicholas Gordon and I,” Laura pleads in her letter to Judge John Woodard III, included in its entirety at the bottom of this post. “I am not in any kind of fear or danger being around him and would like to be able to contact him as soon as possible. We truly love each other and I would like to be able to speak to my boyfriend again.”
Laura then explains that the “injury” to her lip observed by police was just chapping. “Pictures were taken of my face the night of the incident because cops stated my lip was ‘bleeding’ when in all reality my lips were chapped and dry. It was in no way due to any kind of harm or hit. There were no marks on my face.”
Laura says that she has a history of anger issues and that Nick has actually been a positive influence in her life. “I suffer from severe anger issues in which Nick has been an incredible support to get my act together. I am seeking help and determined to take the conditions seriously as I have been diagnosed bipolar.”
“We had a disagreement the night of the incident,” Laura admits, “but in no way did he need to be arrested. We both said things we didn’t mean, but relationships all have their ups and downs.” She then admits that the altercation was more her fault than Nick’s. “I am responsible for what happened that night and want you to be know what a great person Nicholas truly is,” she writes.
Laura’s claim to have serious anger issues seems to be backed up by her own prior arrests. According to online records, Laura has been in front of Florida booking cameras on no less than five occasions, including a domestic violence charge in 2013 and charges of resisting and officer and battery on an officer in 2012. Here are some of her mug shot photos from those arrests:
Unlike her anger issues, it appears as though Laura’s chapped lips issue developed recently.
I was able to obtain the arrest reports from two of the incidents involving Laura. In September of 2012, she was charged with battery on an officer and resisting an officer after a parking lot scuffle. According to the arresting officer, he was breaking up an altercation between two groups in a parking lot just after 3AM in the morning. As the officer was escorting one group to their vehicle, Laura (who was part of the other group and following behind the officer), began “yelling at the individuals entering the vehicle.”
The officer commanded Laura to leave the scene and she refused. He then told her to leave again, this time informing her that noncompliance would result in her arrest. Laura still refused.
The officer says he took Laura by the left arm to escort her out of the crowd and secure her. “At that point, Leal punched me in the stomach with her right fist.” The officer adds: “As I attempt to place her in handcuffs, Leal, began to swing her arms, resisting my efforts to arrest her, while stating ‘you’re not taking me to jail.”
Laura was wrong.
The domestic violence arrest was a bit of a surprise to me because it did not involve a boyfriend, but Laura’s parents. According to that arrest report from an incident that occurred in July of 2013, Laura’s mother says that she got into a verbal altercation over money with her daughter in downtown Stanford. Laura’s mom said her daughter demanded money from her, and things escalated to the point that Laura grabbed and scratched her mother’s wrist.
On their ride home, Laura reportedly screamed at her mother: “I want to kill myself!” and “I want to die!”
When they returned home, Laura’s father approached them and Laura allegedly punched him in the eye and tore his watch off his wrist. Neither Laura’s mom or dad wanted to press charges, and both mentioned that Laura had been diagnosed with a personality disorder and needed help.
Laura had left the scene before the officer arrived, but he later tracked her down and got her account of what had transpired. Laura claimed that her altercation with her mother never turned physical and that her dad “struck her in the back and spit on her face.”
The officer did not observe any visible injuries to Laura’s dad’s eye, but did see that his watch was broken. The officer also saw scratch marks on the arm of Laura’s mother.
Due to Laura stating that she wished to kill herself, she was taken to the Seminole County Behavior facility. She was arrested upon her release two days later and charged with domestic violence.
Back to the present now… Here is Laura’s full letter to the judge on behalf of Nick Gordon:
Your Honor,
Thank you for your time in reading this letter. My name is Laura Leal, Nicholas Gordon’s girlfriend. I would like to kindly ask you to lift the no contact order that was placed against Nicholas Gordon and I. I am not in any kind of fear or danger being around him and would like to be able to contact him as soon as possible. We truly love each other and I would like to be able to speak to my boyfriend again.
I also want to express that the case that was brought to the court is not accurate. Pictures were taken of my face the night of the incident because cops stated my lip was “bleeding” when in all reality my lips were chapped and dry. It was in no way due to any kind of harm or hit. There were no marks on my face and I mentioned this to the state attorney so they could take notes on it when I went in on Monday.
He is not an abuser in any way and made sure the state attorney knew that I had no intentions to press charges regarding our situation. On the contrary, I suffer from severe anger issues in which Nick has been an incredible support to get my act together. I am seeking help and determined to take the conditions seriously as I have been diagnosed bipolar.
He is not at blame, and should not be pushed into any trouble or consequences due to my actions. We had a disagreement the night of the incident, but in no way did he need to be arrested. We both said things we didn’t mean, but relationships all have their ups and downs. I understand the state laws, but moving forward it is important to me to share the truth with you.
I am responsible for what happened that night and want you to be know what a great person Nicholas truly is. When I have episodes, he helps to calm me down and prevents me from doing anything that could make things worse. During those times it is I that loses my cool, not Nicholas. I’ve hurt him too many times but his heart full of love guides me into the direction of getting the help I need to be a healthier, happier human being. I am taking this search for help incredibly serious and will be continuing to take medication for my mental imbalances as I have been advised to do by a doctor.
He is my best friend and cares about people so much. Responsibility is part of his and he has maintained a good Job that truly respects him. As a couple, we are very close and have a handful of friends and family with whom we spend our time. With all the stress presented to him, he deserves to have some peace of mind and time to relax without worries. It kills me to know all the aftermath that comes out of this will linger but I do plead that he be treated with Justice and freed from this case.
I genuinely appreciate your time and hope you take this into consideration. There is nothing more I would wish for than to move forward. Thank you!
Laura Leal
* Some minor edits were made (punctuation, etc.) so I could tell if you got the content of the letter from here. Please link! 😉
