An Ocala man with a lengthy criminal history is behind bars after an altercation with a roommate who was working on his vehicle turned violent.
The victim told Marion County sheriff’s deputies that 30-year-old James Anthony Strong was moving out the residence but didn’t have a working vehicle. So the man said he was attempting to repair the vehicle when a verbal altercation erupted, a sheriff’s office report states.
The man said he entered Strong’s vehicle and was trying to start it when he was struck in the back of the head with a closed fist. The man said he then grabbed a piece of metal piping to “stand his ground” and to protect himself, the report says.
The victim said he began to approach Strong and told him to leave his yard. The man said he was upset about Strong allegedly hitting him and wanted to pursue criminal charges, the report says.
Deputies then made contact with Strong, who questioned why law enforcement had come to the house. He said he was unaware of any physical altercation that took place, the report says.
Strong, who lives on Almond Drive Rd. in Ocala, was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he’s been held six times since March 2007 on a litany of charges. He was charged with domestic battery, is being held on $1,000 bond and is due to appear in a Marion County courtroom on May 15 at 1 p.m. to answer to the charge.