An Ocala man and woman were arrested after they allegedly battered a wheelchair-bound amputee woman.
Stephen Bruce Tinker, 62, was charged with battery (second or subsequent offense) and domestic abuse of an elderly or disabled person without great harm. Tinker lives with the victim at the incident location on NE 16th Court. The nature of their relationship was redacted from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office report.
Sheila A. Minchew, 52, of 1410 NE 28th Ave., was charged with abuse of an elderly or disabled person without great harm. Minchew is friends with Tinker and was visiting him at the incident location.
The victim is disabled due to multiple car accidents and her right leg was amputated, causing her to rely on a wheelchair. She said it was about midnight Sunday and she and Minchew were talking about the underwear they use, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The victim said Minchew pulled her pants down to show her underwear while Tinker was still in the room. She said Minchew then left the residence for some time, and she and Tinker got into an argument. The victim said Minchew returned at around 7 a.m. Monday, the report said.
The victim said she was making coffee when she told Minchew to leave the residence. She said Minchew refused to leave and started muttering profanities under her breath. The victim said she went to her room, at which point Minchew walked up behind her and struck her with a closed fist on the back of her head, according to the report.
The victim said Minchew pulled her out of her wheelchair and started striking her multiple times. She said she was striking Minchew after being pulled out of the chair. At that point, Tinker broke up the fight and Minchew retreated to the living room, the report said.
The victim said Tinker became upset with her for telling Minchew to leave the residence. She said they started arguing and Tinker struck her on the right side of her face with a closed fist, causing her to bleed. The victim said she fled to a neighbor’s house and asked them to call law enforcement, according to the report.
Tinker told the deputy the victim was acting crazy and always makes up stories. He said the victim got upset when Minchew showed her underwear in front of him. Tinker said when Minchew returned to the residence in the morning, the victim grabbed hair and pulled her down so she could strike her. He said the fight continued into the bedroom, where he broke it up, the report said.
Tinker said Minchew went into the bathroom to wipe the blood off her face and clean herself up. He said the victim then left the residence crying, according to the report.
At first, Minchew told the deputy she did not pull her pants down and only talked about what underwear she wore. She later said she did show her underwear in front of Tinker. Minchew said when she returned to the residence, the victim started yelling at her while she was laying on the couch, the report said.
Minchew said the victim grabbed her hair and started striking her. She said the fight continued into the bedroom before being broken up by Tinker. Minchew said she did not clean any blood off her face and was not bleeding from the incident. She said she did not have a cell phone to call 911 while she was in the bathroom, according to the report.
The deputy observed a small cut above the victim’s eye that was bleeding and a knot on the top of her head. The victim appeared to be of sound mind when the deputy was speaking with her, the report said.
Tinker continued to tell the deputy he was a undercover officer with the Tampa Police Department. The sheriff’s office has responded to his residence numerous times for similar incidents, according to the report.
Tinker and Minchew were still in the Marion County Jail on Saturday. Tinker was being held on $4,000 bond, while Minchew was being held on $2,000 bond. Both are due to appear in Marion County Court on Sept. 22.