An Ocala man with a long rap sheet promised to cause trouble for the victim as he was being taken to jail for allegedly battering a woman and fighting the Marion County sheriff’s deputy who arrested him.
Cedric Tajma Simmons, 45, reportedly told the deputy, “When I get out, I’m going to do whatever I can to (expletive deleted) that girl’s life up,” according to the sheriff’s office report.
Simmons, who has more than a dozen prior arrests dating back to 2005, is being held without bond on charges of simple domestic assault, battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer without violence, and criminal mischief with less than $200 in property damage.
The deputy responded to a reported domestic disturbance at around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. The female caller had reported that a man – later identified as Simmons – had forced his way into her bedroom and was threatening her, the report said.
Upon arrival, the deputy heard a male voice yelling inside. The deputy knocked on the door and Simmons opened it, saw the deputy, slammed it and locked it. The deputy gave several commands to open the door but Simmons didn’t comply, according to the report.
Due to the fact the victim was hiding in the bathroom of the master bedroom, the deputy forced his way into the residence. The deputy could hear Simmons yelling, “You called the cops on me.” While entering the master bedroom, the deputy observed the door frame was broken and wood fragments of the door and frame were on the floor. Simmons was trying to open the door to the bathroom where the victim was hiding, the report said.
Simmons ignored multiple commands to leave the room so the deputy could investigate. He refused to comply as the deputy tried to detain him by placing his left wrist behind his back. During the struggle, Simmons managed to push the deputy onto the bed, knocking off his body camera. Simmons and the deputy struggled for about a minute before the deputy used a taser to subdue him, according to the report.
Once Simmons was in custody, the victim told the deputy that Simmons had been arguing and yelling at her all day and was getting worse as the night went on. She said she hid from him in the master bedroom and he broke down the door to get her. The victim said she retreated to the bathroom and contacted law enforcement, the report said.
Once at the jail, Simmons became angry while waiting for a detention deputy. He kicked a plastic crate used to store inmate shoes, causing it the break. The crate was valued at $50, resulting in the criminal mischief charge, according to the report.
Simmons is scheduled to appear in Marion County Court on March 17.