An argument over a child’s dog going inside an Ocklawaha house turned into a violent confrontation Thursday morning.
A woman at the home on SE 176th Court Road told Marion County deputies that 21-year-old Alan Robert Michael Heichel “became irate and began to yell and scream at her” after her son’s small dog went inside the residence, according to a Marion County Sheriff’s Office report. She said she went into a bedroom and Heichel pushed her in the chest with open hands, prompting her to tell him, “I’m going to call the cops.”
The woman said Heichel cursed as her as she was trying to dial 911 and knocked the phone out of her hands. She said he then grabbed the phone and threw it across the room, which prevented her from initially calling law enforcement, the report says.
The woman added that after leaving the bedroom and heading down a hallway, Heichel aggressively came up behind her and pushed her several times in the back while yelling for her to “get out.” She said she left and used another phone to call for help.
Deputies also spoke with a male witness who said he was in his bedroom when he overheard Heichel screaming at the woman and telling her to leave. He said he didn’t see Heichel strike the woman. And he didn’t see who threw the phone but it hit him in the leg, the report says.
A female witness told deputies that she heard Heichel screaming and telling the woman to leave. She said she saw him push the woman several times as she walked down the hallway. But she said she didn’t see Heichel knock the phone out of the woman’s hands.
A third male in the home said he didn’t see any physical contact between Heichel and the woman but said he did hear yelling and screaming, including the woman being told to get out of the home.
A sheriff’s lieutenant eventually located Heichel walking in the 18200 block of SE 95st Street Road. A short time later, he told deputies he and the woman got into an altercation because the dog was not allowed inside the house. He said he told the woman to leave the residence and admitted to pushing her in the back as she walked down the hallway. And he confirmed that he knocked the phone out of her hands but said it was after she’d already dialed 911.
Heichel was transported to the Marion County Jail and charged with domestic battery and obstructing justice. He was held on $2,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court July 17 at 9 a.m.