A Villager is back in jail after an alleged attack on elderly local church officials.
Douglas Keith Mussey, 74, of the Village of St. Charles was being held without bond at the Marion County Jail. He was booked there early Thursday morning on a warrant charging him with failure to appear in court to answer to a felony charge of battery.
The charge stems from an altercation in October at Trinity Lutheran Church in Summerfield.
The 80-year-old president of the church said that Mussey had grabbed him by the throat and choked him during an event where food was being prepared in the church kitchen, according to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Mussey, who stands 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 260 pounds, went on to grab an 82-year-old senior pastor and put him in a headlock. Mussey then punched the senior pastor in the face. During the altercation, the clergyman’s glasses were broken.
The incident was captured on the church’s surveillance system and there was a witness, the report indicated.
Mussey left the church with his wife. When a deputy attempted to contact Mussey for a statement, Mussey was unresponsive. He was arrested on a warrant later that month by Sumter County sheriff’s deputies. However, when he skipped a mandatory court date, another warrant was issued for his arrest.
