54 F
Ocala
Friday, March 29, 2024

Ocala woman accused of hitting man with car and fighting deputies

Kesharra Jhanae Thomas

An Ocala woman remains in the Marion County Jail after allegedly intentionally hitting a man with her vehicle during a truck stop altercation and then punching and kicking the deputies who arrested her.

Kesharra Jhanae Thomas, 24, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, resisting an officer with violence, resisting an officer without violence, and two counts of battery on an officer. She’s being held on $33,000 bond.

A Marion County sheriff’s deputy responded Sunday morning to the Love’s Truck Stop at 7791 NW 47th Ave., where an employee said he was intentionally struck by a vehicle. He said he was told by a customer there was a gold Mitsubishi car in one of the semi truck bays, blocking a gas pump designed for a semi truck, according to the sheriff’s office report.

The victim said he asked the Mitsubishi driver, later identified as Thomas, to move her vehicle and she refused. The victim said he went and told his manager, then returned to obtain the Mitsubishi’s tag number. He said he was behind the vehicle when Thomas placed it in reverse and began driving towards him at a fast speed. The victim said he tried to jump out of the way, but he couldn’t move fast enough and was struck in the left leg. He said he wasn’t injured and was able to get the tag number, the report said.

The driver of the semi truck who originally reported Thomas was in the wrong spot said he saw her refuse to move the vehicle and then hit the victim with it, according to the report.

The deputy traced the tag number and responded to the registered owner’s address, where he saw a gold Mitsubishi in the yard with the tag number provided by the victim. As he approached the vehicle, he observed Thomas laying down on the front driver’s seat and could hear music being played in the car, the report said.

Thomas refused multiple times to provide any identification and went and sat on the front porch. At that point, two deputies approached the porch, and as one was attempting to open the door, Thomas pushed it and struck him. The deputy then said, “You’re under arrest” to Thomas, and he and the other deputy tried to grab her arms to detain her, according to the report.

Thomas was told several times to place her hands behind her back, but she refused and began to swing her arms and fists while kicking her legs towards the deputies. One of the deputies deployed a taser twice without successfully subduing Thomas. He then tried to use his taser to “drive stun” Thomas on her leg, and she tried to take the taser from his hand. The deputies were finally able to gain control of Thomas by using an arm-bar technique. Both deputies were struck while making the arrest, the report said.

The victim was called to the scene, where he positively identified Thomas as the driver who struck him. He also identified the vehicle. When the victim was identifying Thomas, she said to him, “I didn’t harm you,” according to the report.

Thomas is scheduled to answer to the charges in Marion County Court on Sept. 17.