A Daytona Beach woman was arrested Tuesday after a violent altercation with a 78-year-old Silver springs motel manager.
The manager at the Economy Lodge, located at 5350 E. Silver Springs Blvd., told deputies that she was battered by 37-year-old Jacqueline Kempf when she told her to leave the motel. The manager added that she’s had previous problems with Kempf, who didn’t rent the room in the first place, a sheriff’s office report states.
The manager said the incident started when she saw Kempf walking through the parking lot headed to Room 12. The manager said Kempf was uncooperative and blocked the doorway to the room after she told her to gather her belongings and leave. The manager also said that Kempf had taken the extra key to the room, so she had no way of unlocking the door.
The manager told deputies that Kempf started to gather her belongings and asked for assistance in removing them from the room. But when a motel employee started packing up her things, Kempf became irate and started loudly “screaming,” the report says.
The manager said after the employee exited the room and stood behind her, Kempf started slamming the door into her, causing lacerations to her left elbow and big toe. The manager added that Kempf pushed her in an attempt to get her out of the doorway and then threw something at her, the report says. The manager said she left the room and called for help a short time later.
A man staying in a nearby room said he “heard a loud commotion” and when he went outside, he saw Kempf screaming at the motel manager. He said he observed a “struggle” and saw the manager being pushed back by the door as she tried to keep it open. The man said he also called law enforcement for help.
Kempf told deputies that “four to five people had barged into her room and told her she needed to leave” before they started to gather her belongings. She admitted that she attempted to close the room’s door but denied striking the woman with it or pushing her. he said she took refuge in the bathroom and called law enforcement for help.
After deputies read Kempf her rights, she continued to deny battering the manager, claiming instead that the woman actually attacked her. She said that she had attempted to close the door while the manager tried to push it open, and that she had been struck in one of her left toes, causing a laceration.
After Kempf demonstrated what allegedly happened, a deputy noted in the report that her toe injury couldn’t have happened during that part of the incident because of the positioning of her feet while struggling with the door.
Kempf was taken into custody, transported to the Marion County Jail and charged with battery on a person 65 years or older. She was being held on $2,000 bond.