A 54-year-old Reddick man was charged with two separate, months-old crimes after being apprehended by a Marion County sheriff’s deputy on Saturday night.
Darrell Wayne Hill, of 16070 NW 44th Court, was charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, second-degree petit theft, and criminal mischief after DNA evidence linked him to a November burglary. He was also charged with aggravated battery causing bodily harm for allegedly hitting a man with a thrown rock during an altercation in March.
The burglary was reported Nov. 25, 2018 at a residence on NW 157th Street in Reddick. The victim reported that someone entered by breaking a widow and removed a gray box valued at $2 that contained about $8 in coins. The cost of the broken window was estimated at $200, according to the sheriff’s office report.
Because the intruder entered through a broken window, it was possible he or she cut themselves. A red substance resembling blood was found smeared on the refrigerator. A sample was collected with a DNA swab kit and sent away for testing, the report said.
The victim identified Hill as a possible suspect. He said he knows Hill, but he has never given him permission to be inside the residence. The victim said he didn’t want Hill questioned until the DNA results were back, so the case was placed on hold, according to the report.
On March 20, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) laboratory reported that the DNA from the refrigerator matched Hill’s, which was in the Combined DNA Index System. A warrant was issued for his arrest.
The aggravated battery charge stems from an altercation that happened March 14 at a residence on SW 155th Street. A witness told a deputy that Hill and the victim “threw hands,” and once bystanders broke up the altercation, she told Hill he needed to leave, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The witness said the victim walked into a shed to cool down, and when he came out, Hill was standing outside the fence of the property and threw a rock at the victim’s head, making contact. She said Hill then yelled, “I’ll kill all you (expletive deleted),” before leaving, the report said.
The victim said he and Hill were in a verbal altercation that became physical. He said he told Hill to get off his property when Hill picked up the rock and threw it at his head, making contact. The deputy observed a laceration on the left side of the victim’s forehead that required stitches, according to the report.
One witness told the deputy the victim entered the shed and came out with a machete, and that Hill threw the rock in self-defense. But several other witnesses said they never saw a machete, that Hill would not leave the property, and he was the cause of the altercation. A warrant was issued for Hill’s arrest.
Hill was arrested at his home on Saturday and taken to the Marion County Jail. He’s being held on $5,000 bond for the assault charge and will appear in Marion County Court on July 23. His bond was set at $13,000 for the burglary charge, with a court date of July 25.