A sex offender in Summerfield was arrested for burglary after allegedly breaking into his tenant’s room and punching her.
A deputy responded to a burglary with battery call at 4295 SE 138th Ln., Summerfield, on Wednesday, according to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. The female victim contacted dispatch because 54-year-old Gordon Albert Gridley was moving her personal belongings out of the residence against her wishes. While she was on the phone with dispatch, Gridley broke into her bedroom and hit her.
The deputy knew the victim and Gridley due to there being multiple calls for service. Gridley wanted her removed from the location, but the victim’s residency was well established. He had been told multiple times to seek the assistance of the court to have her evicted, the report said.
The deputy met with the victim inside her bedroom. It was obvious she had been a resident for a long time because she had her stuff neatly arranged in the room. There were personal pictures on the wall and a closet full of her clothing and personal items, the report said.
The victim advised that Gridley had been moving her items out of the garage onto the driveway. She then called dispatch for service. While on the phone, he began to pound on her door and screamed about her letting his dogs out, the report said.
Gridley broke the door jamb, forcing his way inside the bedroom which had been locked with a deadbolt. He then grabbed the victim’s right arm, dragged her across the bed and punched the right side of her face. At that point, he realized she was on the phone with dispatch and left the room, the report said.
The deputy observed that the victim’s bedroom door deadlock had the bolt still in the extended position. A freshly broken piece of door jamb lay on the floor next to the door. There was a fresh splintering on the door jamb and a piece lying on the floor.
There were also very small bits of wood from the door jamb on the floor under the spot where it had been splintered. The drywall next to where the deadbolt inserted into the wall was freshly broken with crumbs of drywall still sitting in the wall. It was apparent the door jamb had just been broken, the report said.
The deputy looked at the victim’s arm and face but did not see any redness, bruising or swelling consistent with being grabbed or punched, the report said.
A review of the call notes showed the dispatch call taker heard a male voice in the background yelling, although the words were not clear. The call taker noted that the victim said, “He is hitting me,” as the male voice yelled. The victim told them she was locked in her room, the report said.
The deputy then spoke with Gridley who stated his dogs were let outside the house. He gathered them back and put them inside. He admitted to yelling at the victim about letting the dogs go but denied pounding on her door, breaking the door, coming into her room or battering her. When asked how the door jamb broke, he said it had been that way for a long time, the report said.
The victim continued to live at the incident location. She did not work outside the home, the report said.
Gridley did not have any prior battery convictions, but he is a registered sex offender due to convictions for rape by instrumentation and lewd molestation. He lived at the residence and rented the room to the victim, the report said.
Gridley was arrested on charge of burglary with assault or battery. He was transported to Marion County Jail with bond set at $5,000.
He was also arrested in Oct. 2022 for allegedly knocking out a man’s oxygen hose.