A Villager found himself behind bars Wednesday after a nasty skirmish with a woman in the parking lot of the Summerfield Wal-Mart.
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy was called to the store, located at 17961 S. U.S. Hwy. 27/441, and when he arrived, the woman told him she had been involved in a collision in the parking lot with 83-year-old Roy Maurice Hall, of the Village of Palo Alto. She said when she got out of her vehicle an argument ensued with Hall, a sheriff’s office report states.
The woman told deputies that Hall repeatedly said he was “going to punch her in the face” if she didn’t stop cursing at him. She said she attempted to take a photo of the Hall’s vehicle for insurance purposes and he stepped toward her and struck her in the face with a closed fist, a sheriff’s office report states.
The deputy noted that the woman, who was wearing glasses, had a red, puffy area under her left eye. She said she didn’t need medical attention and reported overhearing Hall telling his wife, who was a passenger in his vehicle, “to not say anything and he was going to lie about the situation,” the report says.
Both Hall and his wife told the deputy they were backing out of the parking spot when they collided with the woman’s vehicle. They said they both got out of their vehicle and an argument broke out between Hall and the woman, the report says.
Hall admitted to threatening to punch the woman if she continued to call him a specific derogatory name but he said he didn’t follow through with the threat. His wife told the deputy the same story, the report says.
The deputy then went inside Wal-Mart and reviewed video surveillance footage taken from a parking lot camera. The deputy reported seeing the collision and the verbal altercation take place. He also observed Hall “abruptly” step toward the woman and “punch her in the face,” which “jolted” her backwards, the report says.
After being read his rights, Hall refused to speak with the deputy. He told his wife “to not say anything to anyone else” and was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail.
Hall, who lives at 643 San Marino Dr., was charged with battery. He was released early Thursday morning on $1,000 bond and his next court date hasn’t yet been set, jail records show.
