A Wildwood man was arrested after punching off his own vehicle’s side mirror and throwing it at a woman at Wildwood RV Village.
A deputy responded to Wildwood RV Village, located at 882 SR 44, regarding a disturbance around 8:35 a.m. Thursday, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. The caller advised that 36-year-old Joel Freeman was damaging his own vehicle and threw a mirror that hit a woman.
Upon arrival, the deputy met with several people outside of an RV, later identified as Freeman, the female victim and a witness. They surrounded a clearly damaged white passenger car, which belonged to Freeman, the report said.
The victim stated Freeman was angry over an argument about work and began yelling at the witness. He punched and hit his own vehicle outside the RV with his fists and a car jack. During his outburst, he punched off the passenger-side rearview mirror, which landed on the ground, the report said.
Freeman then picked it up, looked directly at the victim and threw it at her with significant force while yelling. She was standing about six feet in front of where the vehicle was parked, and the mirror hit her lower right leg. In the same spot, the deputy found a freshly broken piece of plastic that looked like the vehicle’s mirror. The deputy saw the rest of the mirror on the front passenger side floorboard of the vehicle, the report said.
The victim sustained a superficial abrasion on her right shin, just above her ankle. She explained it came from the mirror, and she was certain Freeman intended to hit her, the report said.
The witness corroborated the victim’s story. She added that after hitting the victim with the mirror, he threw it inside his vehicle. Another man who was present inside the RV during the altercation said he saw Freeman damaging the vehicle through the window. He also saw him throw the mirror and heard the victim yell directly after, the report said.
Freeman was subsequently arrested for battery and transported to the Sumter County Detention Center. The Virginia native was being held without bond and has a hold placed on him from Ohio.