A Salt Springs man was arrested Sunday after a confrontation erupted over his refusal to retrieve a frying pan and mattress from a U-Haul truck.
When a Marion County deputy met the woman involved in the incident at one of the sheriff’s substations, she said 61-year-old James Daniel Bird had complained of being tired after driving the U-Haul truck for a long period of time, so she went to the grocery store while he took a nap. When she arrived home, the woman said, Bird refused to get a frying pan and mattress out of the truck.
The woman said she called Bird “lazy” and he “became very upset and got in her face.” The woman said Bird started yelling at her and saying, “Don’t talk to me like this,” the report says.
The woman also told deputies that Bird continued to yell and curse at her and eventually started poking his finger at her face while demanding her credit card and car keys.
After Bird allegedly pushed the woman with his body, she grabbed her purse to leave. But Bird “grabbed her arm and started pulling her into the house.” The woman said Bird then took her handgun out of her purse and threw it on the counter but didn’t make any threats against her, the report says.
After Bird ran into his bedroom, the woman, who had bruises on her left arm, put the gun back in her purse and left the residence.
The deputy also spoke with the woman’s daughter, who said that Bird “started cursing at her mother and calling her all types of names” after she asked him to retrieve items from the U-Haul truck. The daughter also said Bird pushed her mother with his body, grabbed her arm and started pulling her back into he residence when she tried to leave.
When the deputy made contact with Bird at a house on NE 307th Avenue, he confirmed an argument with the woman over removing items from the U-Haul truck but denied having a physical altercation with her, the report says.
Bird was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with battery and held on $2,000 bond. He is scheduled to answer to the charge in front of a Marion County judge on Aug. 22 at 1 p.m.