A Fort McCoy man found himself behind bars early Thursday morning after a nasty brawl at a bar in the Ocala National Forest left one person unconscious and several others nursing wounds.
Marion County sheriff’s deputies scrambled to the 88 Store and Pub, located 14280 NE 203rd Avenue Rd., shortly before 3 a.m. and when they arrived, a witness told them that 34-year-old James Harold Smith had gotten into an altercation with several victims. The witness said one victim had been knocked out and Smith hit several others in the facial area, a sheriff’s office report states.
The witness said Smith then got into his vehicle and started to leave the bar but stopped in the middle of the roadway and stated, “I’m going to kill everyone.” The witness said he then accelerated into the parking lot and hit two people with his vehicle before driving away, the report says.
Another witness told deputies that Smith had gotten upset about the music that was playing inside the bar. He said the bar owner’s son tried to calm him down but Smith attacked him. And he said he heard Smith yell that he would kill everyone and saw him drive back into the parking lot and strike one victim before leaving, the report says.
The bar owner said he was asleep during the initial altercation but received a phone call about the fight. He said he rushed to the bar and when he arrived, he saw his son, who was bloodied from the altercation. He said he tried to break up the incident but Smith pushed him out of the way, threatened to “kill everyone” at the bar and then ran over a victim outside, the report says.
One victim said he was struck in the face multiple times when he tried to break up the fight. Another said he heard Smith yell, “Y’all all dead” before he hit him with his vehicle and bruised his arms. Another said he also was struck by Smith’s vehicle on his right side. And the man who was knocked unconscious for about five minutes said he was hit in the facial area several times, the report says.
Deputies then made contact with Smith, who claimed he had been attacked and was “only defending himself.” He was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with three counts of battery and two counts of aggravated battery.
Smith, who lives at 12175 NE 238th Terr. in Fort McCoy, was being held on $7,000 bond and his next court date hasn’t yet been set.