A 60-year-old Ocala man was nabbed Tuesday after fleeing from a local restaurant bar where a man was knocked to the ground from a barstool.
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy was called to Chili’s Grill & Bar at 11290 SW 93rd Court Rd. in Ocala after a physical disturbance broke out at the eatery. The deputy was given the description of a man, later identified as William George Keezer, who was accused of punching another patron and possibly knocking him unconscious. The deputy also was told that the man had left the area in the passenger seat of a silver Acura SUV that was heading northeast on State Road 200, a sheriff’s office report states.
The deputy spotted the vehicle on the way to the Chili’s restaurant and stopped it a short time later in the area of SR 200 and SW 103rd Street.
Keezer was in the front passenger seat and matched the description the deputy was given of the man involved in the earlier altercation. The deputy also noted an “extremely strong odor” of an alcoholic beverage coming from Keezer, who was swaying and slurring his words, the report says.
The deputy placed Keezer in the back of his patrol vehicle and another deputy responded to Chili’s. A short time later Keezer “spontaneously uttered” that he knocked out the victim but alleged that he attacked him, the report says.
The victim told deputies that he and Keezer were drinking at the bar when he punched him and knocked him to the ground. A witness who has having dinner with his wife on the bar side of the restaurant confirmed the victim’s story, the report says, adding that the victim later positively identified Keezer as the man who hit him.
Keezer, who lives at 7990 SW 75th Ave. in Ocala, was then transported to the Marion County Jail and charged with battery on a person 65 years of age or older, disorderly intoxication in a public place and disorderly conduct for brawling. He was released late Tuesday night on $3,000 bond and his next court date hasn’t yet been set, jail records show.