An Ocala woman was arrested recently for allegedly pushing her 76-year-old mother out of a vehicle and driving away.
Tabitha Blaire Offord, 34, of NE 1st Avenue, was charged Nov. 24 with domestic battery on a victim 65 years of age or older. Offord has numerous previous arrests, including one for domestic battery in September 2018 after she punched a woman in the face while on the way home from Winn-Dixie.
The woman who reported the incident told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy that Offord and her mother got into an argument at her residence. She said Offord broke a picture inside her home and she told Offord and her mother to leave so she could clean up the glass, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The woman said she received a phone call from the victim saying she was down the road and injured. She said she found the victim just a couple of houses away and the victim told her she had an injured leg and that Offord had taken her car, the report said.
The deputy immediately observed multiple injures on the victim, including a large knot under her left eye, scratches on the right side of her face and nose, scratches on her hands, and blood coming from her foot. The victim said she had pain in her legs from falling and she was unable to walk, according to the report.
The victim said remembered falling out of the vehicle but couldn’t specify how or why she fell out. The victim said she was confused about the incident, possibly from the fall, and was unable to provide a direct answer about how she was injured, the report said.
When asked if Offord pushed her out of the vehicle, the victim said, “Well, I’m sure I was helped.” She said Offord left her there and drove away in her vehicle, according to the report.
Another deputy located Offord at approximately the 7000 block of North U.S. Highway 441. Offord told the deputy the victim tried to hit her with an umbrella while they were in the car. She said she pushed the victim out of the car, walked around and kicked her to check on her, then drove away, the report said.
Offord was taken to the Marion County Jail, where in a second interview, she said the victim scratched her and hit her with an umbrella. Offord showed a scratch on her left thigh that appeared to be old and was already healed and scabbed. She confirmed that she pushed the victim out of the vehicle, walked around to check on her, got back into the car and left, according to the report.
Offord is being held on $5,000 bond. She’s due in Marion County Court on Dec. 31.