A 40-year-old Villager with a history of domestic violence issues was jailed late Wednesday afternoon after two people she lives with sought help.
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy spoke with the victims, both of whom are over the age of 65, at the South Multi District Office, located at 8280 SE 165th Mulberry Lane. They said that 40-year-old Leslie Kelly Maestri had recently switched medications for opiate withdrawals and had been “extremely aggressive and acting out” while seeking more medication.
The relationship between the two victims and Maestri was unclear, as it was redacted from the sheriff’s office report. It does, however, appear that all three of them live in a home in the Village of Piedmont.
One victim said Maestri had struck him with a closed fist in the chest and on his shoulder on Tuesday when he wouldn’t give her more medication than she had been prescribed. The other victim said Maestri slapped her and threw a glass of water on her on Wednesday.
Both claimed they were afraid Maestri was going to “seriously hurt them,” the report says.
Deputies then made contact with Maestri at her residence. After being read her rights, she denied touching either of the victims and refused to answer any questions. She also claimed they weren’t giving her any of her medications that had been prescribed to her, the report says.
Maestri, who is originally from California, was then taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail, where she was charged with two counts of domestic battery on a person 65 years of age or older. She was being held on no bond and her next court date hasn’t yet been set.
Maestri is no stranger to the Marion County legal system. In November 2017 she was arrested on a charge of domestic battery by strangulation (dating violence). Another domestic battery arrest followed in February 2018.
But court records show that both of the charges eventually were dropped. In 2018 incident, the State Attorney’s Office cited insufficient evidence and lack of cooperation from the victim. And in the 2017 case, the announcement from State Attorney Brad King reads: “Although there was probable cause for the arrest, based on the facts and circumstances of the case and the victim being uncooperative, the likelihood of conviction at a jury trial is remote, to wit; the Victim recanted his statements, and he signed a waiver of prosecution.”
