Two Dunnellon neighbors were jailed Tuesday after a bloody battle in front of their homes and a standoff between their man friends who were armed with a bat and a shovel.
Marion County sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of a battery taking place on SW Marine Boulevard and when they arrived, 35-year-old Melissa Valentine-Dobson claimed she had been walking down the road with her husband when 32-year-old Raelyn Renae Haynie approached her and started hitting her head and face. Valentine-Dobson said she believed Haynie was wearing brass knuckles, a sheriff’s office report states, noting that her face was covered in blood and she had a large cut over her right eye.
Valentine-Dobson said the two women fell to the ground during the altercation and Haynie got on top of her and struck in the face several more times. She said she eventually was able to get free and she ran home to call 911. And her husband provided the same statement, the report says.
Deputies then spoke with Haynie and her boyfriend. Haynie claimed that Valentine-Dobson’s husband had been harassing her and yelling at her while walking past her home. She said she approached him and he used profanity toward her, went to his residence and returned with Valentine-Dobson a short time later, the report says.
Haynie claimed that Valentine-Dobson then yelled, “You wanna fight?” She said she stepped in front of her and they came face to face with each other, which is when the altercation started and Haynie struck Valentine-Dobson several times in the head and face with her fist, the report says, adding that Haynie was wearing a large ring on each hand.
Haynie told deputies that she took Valentine-Dobson to the ground and continued to strike her. She said the altercation started in her driveway and ended up in the roadway before Valentine-Dobson’s husband ran to his house and grabbed a bat. She said he came back making threats to her and her boyfriend grabbed a shovel and told them to leave.
A witness said Valentine-Dobson’s husband was walking past Haynie’s residence when she yelled to a passing motorist to “run him over.” She said the man became upset and said, “I’ll (expletive deleted) her up” before going home and returning a short time later with Valentine-Dobson.
The witness claimed that Valentine-Dobson approached Haynie and yelled, “Fight me.” Both women then started punching each other in the face and head and Valentine-Dobson’s husband went home and returned with the bat, where he was met by Haynie’s boyfriend with the shovel, the witness said.
Both Haynie and Valentine-Dobson were taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail. Both were charged with battery and released Wednesday morning after each paid a $500 bond.