A Village of Alhambra woman will have to answer in court after a dispute over her cold sore escalated into her allegedly spitting in the face of a bus driver in Leesburg.
Priscilla A. Tobey, 32, who lives with her parents in the Village of Alhambra, is facing a misdemeanor charge of battery following the bizarre altercation on the evening of May 22.
According to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department, the trouble started when Tobey and a male passenger boarded a bus at the Leesburg Walmart. The male passenger told police he asked Tobey to keep her distance from him because she had a visible cold sore, which he feared might be herpes.
Instead of backing away, Tobey allegedly became enraged, called the man a liar, and began chasing and spitting at him. The man told her to sit away from him on the bus, but she refused and continued to touch him and his belongings.
When the bus reached a stop at North 14th Street and Citizens Boulevard, the frustrated passenger asked the bus driver to call law enforcement.
As the driver picked up her radio to contact dispatch, Tobey became physical. She ripped the radio out of the driver’s hands and spat directly in her face. The driver managed to close the bus doors, prompting Tobey to bang on the glass from the outside in an attempt to force her way back in before wandering off.
When Leesburg police arrived at the scene, they spotted Tobey running across the street toward a nearby Wendy’s. Officers detained her and brought her back to the bus stop.
During questioning, Tobey admitted to spitting on both the passenger and the bus driver. She told officers she was frustrated because the male passenger kept getting upset whenever she touched his belongings due to her cold sore.
She was issued a Notice to Appear for simple battery. Tobey is due in Lake County Court on Wednesday, June 10, to answer to the charge.