An Ocala woman was charged with domestic battery by strangulation and criminal mischief after a brawl with a female family member.
According to a Marion County Sheriff’s Office report, 33-year-old Amalia Jane Arteaga became angry when the victim – who is the homeowner – removed the lock from the door leading into the laundry room. Arteaga kicked in the bedroom door, breaking the wooden door frame into pieces, only to discover the victim was not in the room.
Arteaga and the victim are blood-related and have previously lived together as a family unit.
The report said Arteaga went into the living room, where the victim was seated, and started a physical altercation by pulling her out of the chair by her hair. The two continued fighting as they moved down the hallway and into the bathroom, where a witness was taking a shower.
The witness said he saw Arteaga standing behind the victim with her arm wrapped around the victim’s neck, applying pressure to her throat. He then saw the two women fall to the ground with Arteaga on top of the victim with her arm still wrapped around the victim’s neck, the report says.
The altercation was broken up by a neighbor who came into the house after hearing the altercation.
The victim said Arteaga used her forearm to apply pressure to her throat, restricting her ability to breathe to the point where the victim believed she was going to lose consciousness, the report says.
Arteaga told a sheriff’s deputy that the victim initiated the fight by attacking her in the hallway, and that the victim scratched her by reaching over her shoulder while she had the victim in a “choke hold.” Arteaga said she didn’t kick in the bedroom door and that it was broken during the altercation, the report says.
Arteaga was found to be the primary aggressor and was taken to the Marion County Jail, where she was released Friday on $5,500 bond. Her next date in Marion County Court is March 12.