An Ocala man was arrested on a battery charge Tuesday morning after surveillance video showed him shoving a Circle K store manager.
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy responded to the store, located a 6155 SW Hwy. 200, where the victim said Keith A. Paddyfote, 59, came in around 8:30 a.m. and started arguing with her over a cigarette wrap. She said Paddyfote, who lives at 33 Locust Pass Run, tried to go around the counter and pushed her, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The victim showed the deputy the video surveillance footage that showed a black male with a grey beard wearing a blue jacket, yellow V-neck and blue jeans pushing the victim with his arms and chest. The victim showed the man getting behind the counter and then walking out of the store to pump gas into his vehicle, the report said.
A store employee said she tried to help block Paddyfote from entering the area behind the county by standing and observed the contact between Paddyfote and the victim. The witness said Paddyfote did not touch or push her, according to the report.
The victim obtained a tag number for Paddyfote’s vehicle, but they last character was incorrect. Still, the deputy located a white Mercedes Benz with a black male matching Paddyfote’s description. Contacted at his residence Paddyfote said he was at the incident location and that a black female clerk had pushed her, and he pushed away to get away from her, the report said.
Paddyfote was charged with simple battery and taken to the Marion County Jail. He was released Wednesday on $1,000 bond.