A Silver Springs man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly grabbing a woman and demanding pills, but he claims the incident was a setup by the victim and her family.
Stephen Edward Hoop, 58, of 2138 SE 7th Terrace, was charged with burglary with assault or battery and resisting an officer without violence, as well as violating his probation on a previous drug charge.
The victim told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy she was laying on her bed, about 10 feet from the front door, when Hoop entered, walked directly over to her bed, grabbed her purse, and started demanding the victim give him “pills,” according to the sheriff’s office report.
The victim said she told Hoop she didn’t have any pills, and he grabbed her arms and demanded again that she give him pills. She said Hoop then got on top of her and she started hitting him with one of her arms in self-defense. The victim said her daughter came downstairs, told Hoop to “get off my mom,” and began punching him to get him off the victim, the report said.
The victim said Hoop has been to the residence before but does not currently live there. She said he wasn’t invited to the residence and didn’t knock before entering. The victim’s daughter and two other witnesses said they observed Hoop on top of the victim. Two of the witnesses said he was demanding pills, while the other said he was demanding something but wasn’t sure what, according to the report.
Hoop told the deputy the incident was a setup by the victim and the witnesses. He said one of the witnesses saw him at a gas station and told him the victim was having a seizure, and he went to the residence to check on her. No medical calls were received from the victim’s home during or just before the incident, the report said.
Hoop turned away from the deputy several times to keep from being handcuffed. He asked multiple times not to be arrested but was eventually subdued and taken to the Marion County Jail, where he’s being held on $26,000 bond.