A Villager won’t be prosecuted in a fight with a man friend who tried to call 911.
The prosecutor’s office announced earlier this month it would not be pursuing charges of battery and depriving use of 911 against 69-year-old Joan Ward Wright. The prosecution based its decision on “victim/witness issues.”
Sumter County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched at about 6 p.m. Jan. 2 to a home at 800 Enisgrove Way in the Village of Charlotte after a 911 hangup call was received. During the call, a man said he “needed help” before the line went dead, according to an arrest report. The dispatcher reportedly heard arguing in the background prior to the call being disconnected. The dispatcher tried three times to return the call, but each time it went straight to voicemail.
When deputies arrived at the residence, the man said Wright had been drinking champagne and vodka. He said he found her on the floor of the guest bathroom and helped her from the floor to the toilet. She insisted he go away, which he did, according to the report. She then wrapped her arms around him, and he warned her to let him go or he would call 911. She would not release him, so he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed 911. After he told the dispatcher he needed help, Wright, “grabbed his cell phone and threw it,” the report said. He retrieved the cell phone and went to the master bedroom where he locked the door and re-dialed 911.
A deputy spotted Wright walking into a nearby residence. A deputy asked a man at the residence if he “knew the neighbors down the street.” The man said, “Yes, the female half is inside.” A deputy entered the residence and found Wright sitting in a chair in the living room.
The Seneca, Kansas native told the deputy she had consumed “one tall flute” of champagne and felt dizzy. She said she went to lie down in the bathroom. She claimed her man friend had ordered her to stand up. Wright said she took his cell phone and “slid it across the ground,” the report said.