A Gainesville man trying to get a fresh start with his wife in Ocala was arrested after he allegedly battered her and threatened to kill her if she called police during an altercation at the Woodspring Suites.
Timothy Andrew Hand, 32, was charged with simple domestic battery and tampering with a victim after the incident, which happened Tuesday night at the hotel, located at 4120 NE E Silver Springs Blvd.
The victim told an Ocala Police officer that Hand was released nine months ago after being incarcerated for five years and that they moved to Ocala two weeks ago and were staying at the hotel until they could find an apartment. She said she and Hand checked into the hotel at around 8 a.m. and were moving things into their room when the fight started, according to the OPD report.
The victim said Hand had a box in his hand and they were walking to the room when she went to open the door with the key and the door was acting up and wouldn’t open right away. She said Hand got mad at her and when the door opened, he pushed her through the door, causing her to fall to the ground, the report said.
The victim said she got up and was yelling at Hand when he struck her with a closed fist on the left side of her face. She said she told him she was going to call the cops and he tried to take the phone out of her hand. She said Hand told her she wasn’t going to call the cops because he would kill her. She said she got away from him, got into her car and came to the police department to report the battery, according to the report.
The victim said a friend named “AJ” was helping them move and witnessed the entire incident. The officer tried to call the witness at the number the victim provided and the call went directly to voicemail. The officer observed redness and swelling on the left side of the victim’s face that was consistent with her story, the report said.
Contacted at the hotel, Hand said he never punched the victim in the face and would never hit his wife. He did admit he pushed her with the box at the front door of the room but he said she never fell down. When asked where the swelling on his wife’s face came from, he said he didn’t know, according to the report.
Hand was placed in the patrol car and while on the way to the Marion County Jail, he said he and his wife have both put their hands on each other and that he did smack her last week. The officer asked again if he had punched her in the face this time and he said no, the report said.
Hand is being held on $2,000 bond and is due to appear in Marion County Court on Nov. 19.