A Fruitland Park woman has entered a plea in a hate crime case after conflict with her neighbors.
Michelle Denise Spankie, 49, entered a plea of not guilty Wednesday in Lake County Court following her arrest Sept. 2 on a felony warrant charging her with criminal mischief enhanced by the commission of a hate crime. She remains free on $5,000 bond.
The warrant was issued in connection with an Aug. 28 incident in which she allegedly punctured the tires of her neighbors’ vehicles after repeatedly calling 911 to complain she was the victim of reverse discrimination. Spankie, who lives on Pine Street in Fruitland Park, called 911 a total of 10 times to make a noise complaint about her neighbors, according to an affidavit of probable cause from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
“This is reverse discrimination and God forbid anyone say anything to these Hispanics,” Spankie complained to the dispatcher.
Spankie also said she was “tired of all the noise” and “these Mexicans can do whatever they want.”
The dispatcher said Spankie “would not stop mentioning her being white and the people with the loud music being Hispanic as the problem.”
Spankie allegedly grew so frustrated that she used a flathead screwdriver to puncture the tires of her neighbors’ white 2015 Chevy passenger car and 2013 Ford box truck.
One of the neighbors told deputies that Spankie has been “harassing them due to their race and ethnicity.” She added that Spankie has “driven by their residence and stopped to take pictures of them multiple times.”
In 2019, Spankie was tasered twice after refusing to turn down loud music that was disturbing her entire neighborhood. She was arrested on charges of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest and breach of the peace, but the charges were later dropped.
