An Ocala man was arrested after allegedly shoving a man he said was about to start a fight with him.
Richard Hamilton Collins, 54, of NW 55th Court, was charged with a second offense of battery after the incident, which happened early Tuesday. The victim told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy that he was in the bedroom with a woman when Collins entered the room and shoved him, causing him to fall into a bookcase. The deputy observed the victim’s nostril was bleeding, according to the sheriff’s office report.
Collins admitted to pushing the victim. He told a deputy he had been in a verbal altercation with the victim, and when he walked away, the victim entered the bedroom and asked the woman, “Do you want me to handle it?” Collins said he felt threatened by the question and was going to “get ahead” of the victim before he had a chance to act first, according to the report.
The woman was not present and the deputy was unable to contact her, according to the report.
A criminal history search revealed Collins has a prior conviction for simple battery in Pinellas County in 1994. He was taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was released Wednesday on his own recognizance. His next appearance in Marion County Court is set for June 4.