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Friday, March 29, 2024

Ocala man accused of battering husband and wife in violent dispute

Benjamin Phillip Peek

An Ocala man spent a night in the Marion County Jail after allegedly battering a husband and wife during a nasty domestic dispute.

Benjamin Phillip Peek, 28, was charged with two counts of simple domestic battery after the incident, which happened around noon Thursday at a home on SW 27th Lane where he and the victims live.

The male victim told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy he saw Peek using narcotics in the living room and they got into an argument. He said Peek went to strike him when his wife got between them and Peek struck her in the face with his fist, according to the sheriff’s office report.

The male victim said Peek then started hitting him in the face. He said he got away from Peek, but Peek chased him down the hall and continued striking him. The female victim corroborated her husband’s statements. Both victims had visible injuries consistent with being battered, according to the report.

A friend of Peek who witnessed the incident said he didn’t want to provide a written statement, but he saw Peek attack both victims, the report said.

Peek told the deputy the male victim attacked him and struck him in the face several times. He said the victim went down the hall after beating him up, and that he followed him to talk to him. He said he was not pursuing the victim to fight and was trying to calm the situation down, but the victim continued punching him in the face, according to the report.

Peek was taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was released Friday night. He’s scheduled to appear in Marion County Court on Oct. 2.