A 25-year-old Ocala man spent a night in jail recently after a woman used her smartwatch to call law enforcement to report that he battered her.
Corey Blake Payne was charged with simple battery after the incident, which happened Thursday evening at the residence on Locust Pass Lane where he and the victim live.
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy who responded to the disturbance call found the victim standing in the driveway crying hysterically. Her face was flushed and she appeared distressed. The victim said she and Payne had been arguing all day and when he got out of the shower, he got in her face and pushed her by her chest onto the bed, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The victim said there were several similar incidents in which Payne battered her. She said at one point, he grabbed her by the side of the neck and pushed her up against the wall. The deputy observed four deep red marks on the left side of the victim’s neck that are consistent with being grabbed by the neck, the report said.
The victim said she was then pushed backwards into a table. The deputy observed a large horizontal red mark that is consistent with hitting the edge of a table. The victim admitted to scratching Payne to get him off her. She said he had taken both of their cell phones and hid them, and she to contact law enforcement using her smart watch, according to the report.
Payne told the deputy the victim attacked him when he got out of the shower. He said she scratched his neck and scrotum. Payne said he didn’t know how the victim got the mark on her neck but it didn’t look like a hand mark, the report said.
Asked about the cell phones, Payne said the victim had taken and hidden them. He said, “I found them under the couch, and hers is still there where mine was,” according to the report.
Payne was taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was released on his own recognizance. He’s due to appear in Marion County Court on Oct. 6.