A Summerfield woman who was expelled from a doctor’s office Monday is behind bars following a brawl that broke out in a vehicle traveling on U.S. 301.
Marion County sheriff’s deputies were called to investigate an assault and when they arrived, they made contact with 30-year-old Natasha E. Baker, who was standing outside the vehicle holding her one-year-old daughter. She told deputies that she had been in an earlier physical altercation inside the vehicle.
A woman told deputies that she and Baker had gotten into an argument at a doctor’s office and had been asked to leave. She said Baker continued to “yell and scream” at her on the drive home. She said a man who was with them told Baker to stop screaming but she then started to argue with him, a sheriff’s office report states.
A victim who was riding in the vehicle said she tried to intervene in the argument after she saw Baker grab another passenger. She said Baker then “grabbed her by the throat and applied pressure until her breathing was restricted.” She said Baker let her go once the vehicle was stopped, the report says.
Another victim told deputies that Baker grabbed him when he asked her to stop yelling. He said he was afraid Baker was going to hurt him, the report says.
Baker admitted to arguing inside the vehicle but claimed she was only defending herself. She claimed one of the victims “attacked her for no reason,” which she said has happened in the past. She also claimed that one of the victims struck at her and hit her child in a car seat, the report says.
Deputies had EMS respond to the scene to check the victims for injuries. One had a scratch across her left eyelid but refused treatment. Another victim was suffering from scratches and redness in the neck area and was transported to a local emergency room for further treatment. The one-year-old child also was checked by medics, who said “they did not see any trauma to the child,” the report says.
Baker, who lives on SE 28th Ct. in Summerfield, was arrested and transported to the Marion County Jail, where she was charged with domestic battery by strangulation and a parole violation for a previous charge of criminal mischief. She is being held on no bond and is due in court Jan. 8 and Jan. 21.
