An Ocala man incensed over his lady’s friend’s participation in a wet T-shirt contest found himself behind bars recently.
Marion County sheriff’s deputies were called to an Ocala residence for a well-being check and when they arrived, they spoke with 52-year-old Arthur Eugene Parkhurst, who said he had been drinking and had been in a verbal altercation. He said he broke a table and picture frame but didn’t put his hands on the victim, a sheriff’s office report states.
Deputies then spoke with the victim, who was sitting on the back porch crying. They noted that her left eye was badly bruised and when asked what had happened, she said she had gone out drinking with Parkhurst and participated in a wet T-shirt contest. She said Parkhurst was “livid” and had punched her in the eye, the report says.
The victim added that Parkhurst pushed her to the floor, placed both hands around her neck and choked her until she was almost unconscious. She said she couldn’t breathe during the incident, the report says.
The victim said Parkhurst eventually got off of her and dragged her by her hair to their bed. She said he told her to go to sleep and she sat in bed crying and removing small chunks of hair that had been pulled loose when she was being dragged. She said she hadn’t called law enforcement because she believed the incident was a result of Parkhurst suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, the report says, adding that the victim was checked out and cleared by paramedics.
After being read his rights, Parkhurst said he remembered breaking the table but nothing else. After being reminded of the wet T-shirt contest, he said he remembered being upset but no other details about the incident between him and the victim, the report says.
Parkhurst was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with committing domestic battery strangulation. He was released on $1,000 bond and is due in court May 4 at 9 a.m., jail records show.