A Fruitland Park woman was arrested early Monday morning after a violent spat with her man friend’s mother inside a recreational vehicle in Umatilla.
The victim sought help from a resident on the same property where the RV was parked. She said she had been asleep at about 3 a.m. inside her son’s RV when 27-year-old Morgan Watson came inside the vehicle, became irate and grabbed her by the hair. She claimed Watson drug her put of bed and pushed her to the ground, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office report states.
The victim said she attempted to strike Watson in self-defense but was unsure if she had hit her or not. She said she went to the residence at the front of the property and called the sheriff’s office for help, the report says, noting that the victim’s clothing appeared to be “stretched around her collar” and she had a small red mark on her neck.
The victim’s son told deputies he was sleeping in the back of the RV with his mother when Watson, who had moved out of the RV about a week earlier, arrived. He said he let Watson inside the vehicle after she broke glass on the outside of the RV and she and his mother “became highly verbal with each other.” He said he didn’t see anything physical take place and told deputies he didn’t wish to seek charges for the damage to the RV, the report says.
Deputies went to the RV and reported seeing Watson through a partially broken window as she attempted to conceal herself. After several knocks on the door, Watson eventually came out of the vehicle and was detained, the report says, adding that deputies noted broken glass at the front of the vehicle.
After being read her rights, Watson confirmed she had moved out of the RV about a week ago. She said she was given a ride from Fruitland Park to retrieve her belongings and when no one answered the door of the RV, she started breaking glass, the report says.
Watson said the victim’s son, who had been sleeping in a bed with his mother at the back of the vehicle, let her into the RV. She said she eventually hit the victim in self-defense and deputies noted a mark on her cheek, the report says.
Watson, who is originally from Leesburg and lives at 36219 Lake Unity Nursery Rd. in Fruitland Park, was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail, where she was charged with simple battery. She was released late Monday afternoon on $1,000 bond and her next court date hasn’t yet been set, jail records show.
Watson also was arrested in July 2019 after the pickup truck she was riding in was stopped by a Lake County sheriff’s deputy for not having a license tag attached to it. She was taken into custody for being in possession of a blue cut straw and a glass pipe, both containing the residue of methamphetamine, a report states.
