A Lady Lake man with a history of violence was jailed after an alleged attack on his wife.
The wife of 50-year-old Joseph Michael O’Keefe fled last week to the Lady Lake Police Department where she told officers that her husband had wrestled her into a headlock. She said the attack resulted from an argument over O’Keefe’s drinking.
O’Keefe had been arrested in June at his home at 253 W. Lakeview St. on a misdemeanor charge of battery. It was considered a hate crime because of the ethnicity of the victim. As a result of that incident, O’Keefe was placed on probation for one year and ordered to take 12 classes with The Recovery Village, a drug and rehabilitation facility in Umatilla.
O’Keefe was arrested last year after his wife reported that he had attacked her. The charge was later dismissed.
As a result of this most-recent incident, O’Keefe was arrested on a felony charge of domestic battery. He was booked at the Lake County Jail and released after posting $12,500 bond.
