A British-born horse trainer admitted to police that she struck another woman in the face with a broom handle because the victim “did not know how to shut her mouth.”
Stacey Louise Laing-McMillian, 39, of SE Drew Road in Belleview, was charged with aggravated battery after the incident, which happened Wednesday night at the home she shares with the victim.
The victim told Belleview Police officers that Laing-McMillian had been drinking heavily through the night, “like she always does,” when they got into an argument over what to feed their dogs. She said Laing-McMillian came at her in an aggressive manner, according to the police report.
The victim said she tried to fight off Laing-McMillian and that they both fell to the floor during the struggle. She said she grabbed Laing-McMillian’s hair to get her off her, and that’s when Laing-McMillian grabbed the broom and struck the victim above her eye, the report said.
Officers photographed the victim’s injury and images of the blood spattered on the kitchen floor before going across the street, where Laing-McMillian was sitting inside the residence. They helped Laing-McMillian to her feet and placed her in handcuffs for the trip to Marion County Jail, according to the report.
Laing-McMillian was evaluated at the jail, where the staff said she couldn’t be admitted at that point due to her behavior and the fact she wasn’t following instructions. She was under the influence of alcohol and it needed to be determined how much alcohol was in her system before she would be accepted at the jail, the report said.
Laing-McMillian was taken to Ocala Regional Medical Center, where a blood test showed her blood-alcohol level was .23 percent. She was taken back to the jail, where she remains held on $1,000 bond. She’s scheduled to appear in Marion County Court on July 23.