A Summerfield man was jailed Thursday night after an altercation with his lady friend over a social media post.
Marion County sheriff’s deputies were called to a residence on S.E. 135th Street and when they arrived, the victim said she had been in an argument with 44-year-old Mark A. Kerswill and “had separated herself from him.” She said she went into the bathroom and he followed her, a sheriff’s office report states.
The victim said Kerswill picked up a tank top, stood in front of her and then smacked her in the face with the shirt. She said after he hit her, Kerswill “got into her face in an aggressive manner” and said, “What?”
Deputies observed a black-and-white string-strap tank top on the bathroom counter. They asked the victim to demonstrate how Kerswill allegedly had hit her in the face with the shirt and she grabbed it with her right hand and brought it down to her left side. She then swung the shirt upward across her body in a fast, swift manner, the report says.
Deputies noted an area of redness on the victim’s forehead in between her eyebrows. She said she believed the redness came from being struck with the shirt.
Deputies spoke with Kerswill, who admitted to being in a verbal altercation with the victim “over something that occurred on Facebook.” He said the argument “carried into the bathroom” where he claimed to have grabbed the shirt and tossed it at the mirror, the report says.
A deputy asked Kerswill why he threw the shirt at the mirror and he replied, “I don’t know.” The deputy told Kerswill his story didn’t make sense and he agreed with him, the report says.
Kerswill was arrested and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with battery. He was being held on $100 bond and is due in court Oct. 23 at 9 a.m.