A 46-year-old Ocala woman was arrested by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office after she was accused of battering the receptionist at a local middle school.
On Tuesday, October 17, the school resource officer at Liberty Middle School (4773 SW 95th Street in Ocala) was advised by school administration that a woman, identified as Dawn Marie Shepherd, had battered the receptionist, according to the MCSO arrest report.
The report stated that Shepherd was at the school to meet with administration about her child’s education plan. When she was leaving the meeting with her spouse, they went back to the front office to turn in their guest badges and check out.
The school resource officer noted in the report that the school’s front lobby security cameras captured the incident. At 10 a.m., Shepherd was observed on the footage walking through the door into the front lobby, and the receptionist/victim was sitting behind the desk.
According to the report, Shepherd walked to the desk and threw her guest badge at the victim. The victim then gave the badge back to Shepherd and told her, “That is not how you hand someone a badge.”
Shepherd was then observed on the footage walking several feet around the desk, and she approached the victim with the badge in her hand. She then approached the victim and “shoved the badge into the victim’s face,” according to the report. The school resource officer noted that Shepherd’s right hand “clearly made contact” with the victim’s face.
The report stated that Shepherd’s spouse was observed “laughing about this incident” as she walked back around to the front of the lobby. She then crumpled up a piece of paper and threw it at the victim.
Shepherd then walked back around the desk and gestured with her right hand for the victim to stand up and approach her. The victim remained seated, and the report stated that Shepherd and her spouse remained in the front lobby until 10:16 a.m.
“Based on the video, there is probable cause that the suspect knowingly battered an employee of the public school system, in violation of Florida Statute 784.081,” stated the school resource officer in the report.
Shepherd was arrested on Wednesday, October 18, and she was transported to Marion County Jail and released the same day on $2,000 bond. She is facing a felony charge for battery on a public or private education employee.
A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.