An Ocala woman accused of throwing a woman into a wall during an argument over a loan deal gone bad was arrested after she was found hiding in a clothes dryer.
Cortney Jane Meier, 30, of 2775 NW 49th Ave. Apt. 205, was charged Thursday with simple domestic battery and obstructing justice by intimidating or threatening a victim, as well as three probation violations. Jail records show Meier was jailed twice in 2019, including once in October after a hit-and-run crash.
Marion County sheriff’s deputies responded to a residence on SW 147th Loop. After knocking on the door and announcing his presence, a deputy heard a female voice yell, “Stop, let me go” and a loud thud. The victim opened the front door and yelled, “She is running out the side door,” referring to Meier, according to the sheriff’s office report.
While one deputy searched the perimeter of the house without finding Meier, the other deputy went inside and was shown the door that Meier fled through. The deputies eventually found Meier hiding in a clothes dryer in the utility room, the report said.
The victim said she and Meier got involved in a physical altercation at around 2 a.m. She said she purchased a necklace, two bracelets and two cell phones from Meier. The victim said her live-in boyfriend agreed to sign a loan for Meier so she could purchase a vehicle. The relationship between the victim and Meier was redacted from the report.
The victim said she wanted Meier to wait until Friday to purchase the vehicle because she had made arrangements to have her juvenile son’s hair cut and didn’t want to reschedule because she had already rescheduled once. She said Meier became upset and said, “I want my stuff back.” The victim said Meier tried to pull the bracelets and necklace off her while she was wearing them, according to the report.
The victim said she called law enforcement because Meier continued to be argumentative. She said the female voice the deputies heard upon their arrival was hers because Meier was pulling her away from the door. The victim said the loud thud the deputies heard was from Meier throwing the victim into the wall, which damaged the drywall. The deputy observed a large indentation in the wall near the side door that Meier fled through, the report said.
After being read her Miranda warning, Meier said she traded the bracelets and necklace to the victim so she would allow her boyfriend to sign on her vehicle loan. She said when the victim backed out of the deal, she tried to take the items from the victim. Meier denied ever hitting the victim or pushing her into the wall, according to the report.
The victim’s boyfriend said he saw Meier trying to take the items from the victim, the report said. Meier was being held on $1,000 bond and will appear in Marion County Court on Aug. 27.