An attorney representing a 64-year-old Villager accused of groping a younger man appears ready to take his client’s case before a jury.
Marrian Ann Zambrano was arrested Christmas Eve after she allegedly grabbed the man by the crotch outside RJ Gators at Lake Sumter Landing. The man, who was employed at the restaurant, claimed the resident of the Historic Side of The Villages wanted him to go home with her, tried to lower his pants and rubbed her breasts against his body. He told law enforcement he wanted to see her prosecuted and she was arrested on a charge of battery.
Zambrano, who remains free on bond, has retained criminal defense attorney Leon Blakely Cheek.
He has obtained what could be a key piece of evidence in the case, video from that fateful night. A trial before a jury has been scheduled for July 15.
The Winter Park attorney previously has represented women who have gotten into trouble in The Villages:
• He represented a New York woman who bills herself as “America’s psychologist” after she was arrested on a drunk driving charge after leaving the Waterfront Inn at Lake Sumter Landing. She got off with probation and community service.
• He pursued an insanity defense for a Villager who had been accused of stealing a golf cart from Spanish Springs Town Square. The prosecutor’s office dropped the case.
