National Chicken Council President Michael Brown recently flew the coop. Now he may find himself in the clink.

On June 17, the NCC announced Brown was retiring from his role after 13 years. What the release didn’t mention was that Brown had been arrested for attacking his wife ten days earlier in Florida.

Shortly after midnight on June 7, a Collier County patrol officer responded to a domestic disturbance at the Ritz Carlton in Naples. Upon arriving at the scene, the officer encountered Brown with a hotel security guard.

Brown told the officer his wife attacked him during an argument, but he did not want to press charges. The officer noted two scratch marks with dried blood on Brown’s arm.

According to the officer’s arrest report, Brown’s wife had a different story. She told the officer that as the two were heading for bed, she took Brown’s phone off the nightstand. According to her, Brown jumped out of bed, rushed at her and shoved her to the ground. She then alleged he approached her, put his weight on her, and began scratching at her face and legs as he demanded the phone. She says she had already thrown it to another part of the room.

After speaking with the wife, the officer returned to Brown for more questioning. Brown stated that his wife ripped his necklace off and shut a door on his fingers. He admitted grabbing his wife but said he only did so after she took his phone and threw it against the wall.

The officer noted the phone was undamaged and Brown did not have injuries consistent with his story. However, his wife had red marks under one eye and fresh scratches on both legs. Based on the evidence, the officer arrested Brown at the scene.

Image courtesy Collier County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office

NCC senior vice president of communications Tom Super says the organization is aware of the situation.

“Mike is no longer with NCC and is dealing with a personal matter,” he says.

Brown was charged with one count of battery- touching or striking another against their will. He bonded out of jail the same day and is set to appear in court on July 3.