A Villager is apparently planning a vigorous defense after she was charged with groping a younger man at Lake Sumter Landing.
Marrian Ann Zambrano, 64, was arrested Christmas Eve after she allegedly grabbed the man by the crotch outside RJ Gators. The man, who is employed at the restaurant, claimed the resident of the Historic Side of The Villages wanted him to go home with her, tried to lower his pants and rubbed her breasts against his body. He told law enforcement he wanted to see her prosecuted and she was arrested on a charge of battery.
Zambrano, who remains free on bond, has retained criminal defense attorney Leon Blakely Cheek, who last week in Sumter County Court entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of his client. He has also demanded a copy of the charge against his client.
The Winter Park attorney previously has represented women who have gotten into trouble in The Villages:
• He represented a New York woman who bills herself as “America’s psychologist” after she was arrested on a drunk driving charge after leaving the Waterfront Inn at Lake Sumter Landing. She got off with probation and community service.
• He pursued an insanity defense for a Villager who had been accused of stealing a golf cart from Spanish Springs Town Square. The prosecutor’s office dropped the case.
Zambrano’s case will be the subject of a status conference in March in Sumter County Court.
