A Wildwood man was arrested for battery after allegedly gashing a woman’s face during an argument in his car near a country club in The Villages.
Dispatch received a call for service regarding a verbal disturbance at Morse Boulevard and Odell Circle near the Havana Country Club around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. A female passenger was “begging” to be let out of a car, and 29-year-old Tyler James Liccardi would not allow it.
Deputies found the vehicle headed south in Wildwood and conducted a traffic stop near State Road 44 and County Road 145. The passenger, who had a large gash with fresh blood under her left eye, initially stated nothing physical had happened. She claimed her injury came from a dish pit at work, the report said.
She added that she had gotten off work at 12:30 a.m., even though Liccardi told the deputies she had gotten off at 9:30 p.m. the previous night. Even if the injury happened at 12:30 a.m., the blood would not be fresh, and the wound would have clotted. At that point, she changed her story and said Liccardi “accidentally” hit her in the face with a phone during an argument. She looked nervous and scared as she said this, the report said.
The deputies then listened to the recording of the 911 call. They could hear the passenger saying Liccardi hit her several times. When she said this, he threatened to hit her again. There was also an audible scuffling around in the background, the report said.
Additionally, Liccardi had a bump on his right pinkie knuckle, consistent with hitting someone. This, along with the 911 call, led the deputies to conclude he was the primary aggressor, the report said.
Liccardi was arrested on charge of battery (second or subsequent offense). He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center with bond set at $5,000.
The Connecticut native was previously arrested in May 2025 for throwing a brick through a vehicle’s back window, in March 2025 for illegally crossing State Road 44, in Feb. 2024 for a high-speed chase investigation, and in Aug. 2019 for meth in his vehicle.