A woman who pursued prosecution against her father last year on a battery charge sent a handwritten note to a judge asking for leniency when her boyfriend faced the same charge.
Susan Newman, 42, made headlines last year after her 82-year-old father was arrested following an altercation at his home at 1813 W. Schwartz Blvd. on the Historic Side of The Villages. The tension between the father and daughter extended into court battles over her 8-year-old son and her eviction from his home. Newman’s father said he feared his daughter and her boyfriend were using drugs, endangering his grandson.
In October, when Newman was still living in her father’s home from which he had been banned because of his earlier arrest, her boyfriend was jailed on a felony charge of battery.
Newman called 911 on Oct. 25, leading to the arrest of 36-year-old Derek John Hoffman. He punched Newman in the face during an argument provoked by Hoffman leaving her and young son stranded, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. The attack was witnessed by Newman’s son.
The prosecutor’s office last month announced that no information would be filed in Hoffman’s case due to “victim/witness issues.”
Hoffman, who lists an address on Carrera Drive in The Villages, had retained the services of criminal defense attorney J. Scott Herman, who most recently was in the news after negotiating a deal on behalf of a Villages’ couple’s daughter who had been arrested wearing only a blue bathing suit at a restaurant in The Villages.
Following his arrest, Hoffman had been banned from contact with Newman. But after about a month and half, Newman sought a modification of the terms of Hoffman’s release, indicating she wanted to have contact with him again. Newman never sought a similar modification in the case against her father.
“My initial statement was inaccurate and I request to have all charges against Derek Hoffman dismissed,” Newman wrote in her note to the court. “Please dismiss these charges as soon as possible.”
You can read her note at this link: Susan Newman’s note to the court
Hoffman has a history of trouble with the law.
In 2016 during a drunk driving arrest in The Villages, Hoffman hurled racial slurs at Sumter County sheriff’s deputies. He lost his driver’s license for six months. In 2014, he was arrested for possession of cannabis and drug paraphernalia. He was placed on probation for six months and later provided the court with proof that he had completed a substance abuse evaluation. In 2008, he was convicted of battery in Ohio.
