A 42-year-old Arkansas man was arrested Tuesday night after he allegedly ripped a towel off a woman’s head, pulling her hair in the process, during a violent argument in Dunnellon.
The victim told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy that she and Joseph Michael Vibbard got into an argument that turned physical about 20 minutes before deputies arrived at the incident location on SW 98th Loop. She said Vibbard came to Florida on Saturday afternoon to see a family member, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The victim said Vibbard asked her to go bowling with him and the family member, but she declined because she needed to go pick up her boyfriend on the side of the road. She said Vibbard became upset when she was walking away from him, so he grabbed the towel that her hair was wrapped in and ripped it off her head, causing the victim’s hair to be pulled, the report said.
The victim said Vibbard then smacked her in the back of the head with the towel before throwing it against the wall. She did not have any visible marks or injuries, according to the report.
Vibbard told the deputy that he snatched the towel off the victim’s head because he was mad that she was walking away and because of everything she has been putting him through with her new boyfriend.
Another deputy spoke with the family member, who confirmed the victim’s and Vibbard’s accounts. Vibard was charged with simple domestic battery and taken to the Marion County Jail, where was released Thursday on his own recognizance. No court information was available.