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Ocala
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Man nabbed after snatching recording cell phone from neighbor during dispute

Raynold Cabral

An Ocala man who didn’t realize the cell phone he took from a neighbor was recording was caught on video attempting to strike the man during an altercation Monday.

The victim told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy he and his mother had an open case against their neighbor, Raynold Cabral, for stalking. He said they’ve reported multiple cases of harassment by Cabral and were told by deputies that for any action to be taken, he would have to have video or at least audio proof. Cabral and the victim live on Southeast 52nd Street.

The victim said when he returned home from work on Monday, Cabral was sitting on his all-terrain vehicle at the top of his own property, just shy of the victim’s driveway, yelling and swearing at the victim and his mother. He said this has become a daily occurrence when he arrives home.

The victim said he did what he was instructed to do and began filming Cabral with his cell phone held above the 5-foot wooden privacy fence. Cabral then drove his ATV down to the property line where the victim was filming and began striking at him with open hands, connecting once in the face, a sheriff’s office report states.

The victim said Cabral also grabbed him by his wrist, pulling his arm across the fence and causing a visible laceration to his forearm and chest. At that point, the victim dropped his phone, a green and black Samsung valued at approximately $100, on Cabral’s side of the fence.

Cabral picked up the phone and told the victim he wasn’t getting it back. He was unaware that the phone continued recording after he picked it up. The video showed Cabral trying to strike the victim before the phone fell to the ground, and then it showed Cabral pick it up and drive away with it, the report says.

The victim’s mother, who could be heard shouting in the background of the video, corroborated the victim’s account of the incident.

Cabral told the deputy he was the one being harassed, and that he, the victim and his mother used to be friends until the victim’s mother started flirting with him in front of his wife, the report says.

Cabral said there have been constant problems since he stopped communicating with them and helping the victim’s mother around her property. He said he did punch the fence and yell at the victim but never struck or grabbed him. When asked why he didn’t just return the phone, he said he was going to call 911 and have the police give it back, the report says.

Cabral was charged with battery by touching or striking and petit theft of property valued between $100 and $300. He was taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was released on $2,000 bond. No court date was set.