A 74-year-old Ocala woman was charged with battery on a person 65 years or older after she allegedly shoved an elderly neighbor during an argument.
The victim told Marion County sheriff’s deputies that Betty J. Triggs has harassed him since he moved into his residence. He said Triggs was yelling at him around 6:20 p.m. Tuesday and when he approached her to tell her to stop, she placed her hands on his chest and pushed him several times, according to the sheriff’s office report.
A witness who was walking with the victim and another witness to an HOA meeting told the deputy that Triggs was verbally harassing them. She said she saw Triggs push the victim and that the victim “stumbled and almost fell,” the report said.
Another witness said Triggs was verbally harassing the victim and he saw her push him several times. A third witness said she heard Triggs “shouting vulgarities” at the victim and saw her push him, causing him to almost lose his balance. The witness said after the altercation, Triggs continued to follow the victim and other community members while shining her flashlight and shouting vulgarities at them, according to the report.
Triggs refused to come out of her residence and speak to law enforcement. She eventually came out but remained uncooperative. When told she was being charged with battery, she denied it happened. Triggs was taken to the Marion County Jail, where she was released Tuesday on her own recognizance. She’ll appear in Marion County Court on Dec. 17.