An Ocala man was arrested after he allegedly forced his way into a home to see if one of the residents was with another man.
Marlon Levon Nichols, 41, of 7344 Hemlock Road, was charged with burglary with assault or battery and two counts of assault/threat to do violence after the recent incident.
The first victim told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy she heard a knock at the front door and got out of bed to see who it was. She said Nichols identified himself and demanded to be let inside so he could see if her daughter was with another man. The victim said she didn’t open the door for him, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The victim said she heard Nichols start hitting the door and she retreated to her room. She said Nichols got inside by breaking the lock and deadbolt through the doorframe. The deputy observed the door frame and lock mechanism were completely destroyed and separated from the wall, the report said.
The victim said Nichols then entered the residence and stood in the doorway of her bedroom. She said he threatened to kill her if she didn’t tell him if her daughter had another man in the house. The victim said she armed herself with a metal rod and threatened to hit Nichols if he didn’t leave, according to the report.
Nichols then went to the bedroom where he believed the victim’s daughter – the second victim – to be. The second victim, who was in the back bedroom of the house during the incident, said she heard the front door smash open and Nichols yelling at her mother. She said Nichols came to the door of the bedroom she was in and tried to force it open, the report said.
The second victim said Nichols was yelling that he was going to kill everyone in that room. She said she was in fear that if he had gotten into the room, he would have killed her. The second victim said Nichols armed himself with a 4-foot-long piece of 2-by-4 wood and tried to use it to break the door down. She said he was unable to get the door open and left the residence, according to the report.
The victims provided a description of Nichols’ vehicle and said he may have gone to an address on the northwest side of town. While on the way to that address, the deputy observed a vehicle matching the description they provided. A license tag search confirmed the vehicle belonged to Nichols and the deputy pulled him over along the 2400 block of NW 10th Street, the report said.
After being read his Miranda warning, Nichols said he went to the incident location because he believed the second victim was with another man. He said he entered the home lawfully. Asked how the door came to be ripped out of the frame of the house, Nichols said the first victim ripped it out of the wall when she opened it for him. He said he did not say anything to the victims after entering the residence, according to the report.
Nichols was released on $22,000 bond and is due to appear in Marion County Court on Dec. 22.