A 40-year-old Villager who confronted a Spruce Creek South resident he claimed ran over him a year ago in a golf cart found himself behind bars Sunday afternoon.
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy was called about an incident at the Dollar Tree at 11275 SE 178th Place in Summerfield and told that the wife of William Lee Arthurs, of the Village of Orange Blossom Gardens, had followed the 75-year-old Spruce Creek South man when he left the parking lot in his golf cart. The deputy stopped the golf cart in the 17500 block of S U.S. Hwy. 441 and the man claimed that Arthurs had confronted him about a traffic crash that happened more than year ago in Sumter County, a sheriff’s office report states.
The man said Arthurs blocked him and shoved him when he tried to enter his golf cart. He said he then climbed into the cart from passenger side entrance and Arthurs lunged at him so he pulled out his pocketknife, pointed it at Arthurs and punched him in the mouth, the report says.
Arthurs’ wife told the deputy she had witnessed the Spruce Creek South resident hit Arthurs with his golf cart more than a year ago. She said Arthurs got upset when he saw the man and he tried to keep him from leaving the parking lot until law enforcement arrived. She also said that Arthurs had pushed the victim away from the golf cart and after the man entered from the passenger side, he pulled a knife on Arthurs and hit him, the report says.
Arthurs, who had walked to the site of the traffic stop near the Dollar Tree, also claimed the Spruce Creek South resident had fled the scene a year ago in Sumter County after running over him. He said he became “very upset” when he saw the man leaving the store and started to argue with him. He admitted to trying to grab the man’s keys to keep him from leaving and said that’s when the victim pulled the knife on him and hit him, the report says, adding that Arthurs later said he “let his emotions get the best of him” and he was sorry for what he had done.
Arthurs, who lives in the 1000 block of Nell Way, was arrested and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with battery on a person 65 years of age or older. He was released late Sunday night on $2,000 bond and his next court date hasn’t yet been set, jail records show.
