An Ocala woman was arrested at the Queen’s Garden Resort motel on Wednesday night after an alleged violent attack on a juvenile for refusing to watch a one-year-old child.
When a Marion County sheriff’s deputy arrived at the motel, located at 3330 S Pine Ave., shortly after 9:30 p.m., the juvenile victim said the altercation turned physical when 18-year-old Ieshia Joenike Smith “grabbed her hair and punched her in the face,” a sheriff’s office report states.
The deputy noted that there were no visible injuries to the juvenile but said she did produce a lock of hair that she claimed Smith pulled out.
A witness reported being pushed out of the way as Smith charged at the juvenile. And the witness confirmed the juvenile’s account of Smith grabbing her hair and punching her, the report says.
Smith admitted that she and the juvenile had a verbal altercation and allegedly told the deputy that she “has anger issues and does not like anybody getting in her face,” the report says.
Smith claimed the juvenile “stuck her finger in her face” so she grabbed her by her hair and started to hit her. And Smith admitted to pulling out a chunk of the juvenile’s hair during the melee, the report says.
Smith was transported to the Marion County Jail and charged with domestic battery. She was released late Thursday afternoon on $500 bond and is due in a Marion County courtroom on Feb. 14 at 8 a.m. to answer to the charge.