An Ocala man with a long arrest history was jailed on a battery charge Tuesday morning after he allegedly spit in a woman’s face and punched her multiple times in the back of her head.
The victim told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy that Tony Lenard Brown, 45, of 2124 46th Lane #43, picked her up from a friend’s house and took her to the incident location. She said when they arrived, Brown became upset with her for no reason, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The victim said during the argument, Brown spit in her face for no reason and walked away. She said when she didn’t respond to him, Brown became more upset and started punching her with a closed fist in the back of her head. The victim said towards the end of the argument, she was upset with Brown and hit his vehicle’s windshield with a stick. She said before Brown left the location, he took her backpack containing her wallet and purse, the report said.
The deputy was able to feel two small bumps on the victim’s head that she said came from Brown punching her. The deputy was unable to see the bumps due to the victim’s hair, according to the report.
The victim’s uncle told the deputy he doesn’t see well but he saw Brown hit the victim. He couldn’t specify exactly where Brown was hitting her, but he knew he was hitting her, the report said.
The deputy spoke with Brown by phone and they agreed to meet at the North Multi-District office at 8311 N. U.S. Hwy. 441. During the interview, Brown said he got a call from the victim at around 5:30 a.m. asking for him to give her a ride to the incident location. He said when they arrived at the location, the victim became upset with him because the lock was cut off her tent, according to the report.
Brown said he told the victim her uncle cut the lock off the tent to get his heater, which belonged to him. He said the victim started going “crazy,” saying it was all his fault. Brown said the victim started hitting herself and that it was a normal thing for her to do. He said the victim struck his vehicle with a sledgehammer, the report said.
After being read his Miranda warnings, Brown denied having any physical altercation with the victim. He couldn’t explain how she got her injuries, saying only she was hitting herself. When asked about the victim’s belongings, Brown said they were in his vehicle due to her leaving them there when they got to the incident location, according to the report.
Marion County Jail records show Brown with 10 prior arrests dating back to 1993, including several battery charges. He’s being held on $500 bond and is scheduled to appear in Marion County Court on Jan. 15, 2021.