An “irate” woman was arrested after alleged “homophobic” slurs led to her being thrown out of a restaurant at Brownwood.
Ashley Brook James, 35, who lives with her parents in the Lilly Villas in the Village of Monarch Grove, was with “a large group of individuals who were causing a scene” at about 9 p.m. Tuesday at Gator’s Dockside, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. The manager reported that there were multiple “homophobic” sexual slurs made by members of the group. The manager ordered them to leave. As the manager escorted them out, she attempted to lock the door behind them.
James became “irate” and claimed the door was being closed on her father. The manager told police that James pulled at her shirt and repeatedly punched her in the back of the head. James fled in a golf cart, but was later located by the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
Witnesses backed up the manager’s account of what happened and added that she had to cover her head with her hands and retreat for safety during the alleged attack by James.
James denied any involvement in the incident, but claimed she was upset with the bartenders for using “gay slurs,” the report said.
She was arrested on a charge of battery and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. She was released after posting $1,000 bond.
