A Leesburg woman found herself behind bars Monday after being accused of attacking her ex-husband in the parking lot of the grocery store where he works.
Leesburg Police officers were called this past Friday to the Publix grocery store at 717 N. 14th Street in the Palm Plaza and when they arrived, the victim claimed that his ex-wife, 53-year-old Judy Darlene Bloomfield, had attacked him in the parking lot. He told officers that he arrived for work at about 4:50 p.m. to begin his shift at Publix and placed his cell phone and wallet in a metal lock box inside his white 1992 Jeep, a police report states.
The victim said he was then approached by Bloomfield, who was parked two stalls away from him in a blue Ford F-250 pickup truck. He said Bloomfield was shouting at him about his relationship with another woman and he asked her to leave while explaining that he didn’t want to argue with her, the report says.
The victim said he was still sitting in his vehicle when Bloomfield struck him in his left cheek with a closed fist. He said she continued to shout at him and then started complaining about a television set he took when he moved out of their shared residence.
The victim said he told Bloomfield to leave a second time and she slapped him across his left cheek. He said she then threatened to enter the Publix “only to cause a scene” and hopefully get him fired, the report says.
The victim said he quickly exited his vehicle and ran inside to get help from a manager. He said the manager asked her to leave, which she refused to do, and he then noticed that the lock box in his Jeep appeared to have been tampered with.
The victim said the lock on the box was bent to one side and the lid wasn’t properly secured. He said he discovered that his iPhone 11 valued at $730 was missing, as was a black case valued at $50 and his $15 wallet. He said he shouted at Bloomfield to give him back his phone and wallet but she said she didn’t have the items. The manager asked Bloomfield to return the items and a short time later she threw what appeared to be a cell phone out of her window. But she quickly exited the vehicle and retrieved the item, the report says.
The manager asked Bloomfield to return the items a second time, told her to leave the property and said the Leesburg Police had been called for assistance. Bloomfield then drove toward U.S. Hwy. 27 and threw items out her window that were identified as the victim’s cell phone and wallet, the report says.
During the investigation, Bloomfield allegedly called the Leesburg Police Department and denied striking the victim but admitted to throwing the items at him from her vehicle. She said she didn’t wish to speak with officers and wouldn’t answer the door if they came to her residence, located at 10315 Patrick Dr. in Leesburg, the report says.
The following day an officer spoke with the Publix manager, who corroborated the victim’s story. He said Bloomfield denied taking the victim’s belongings and then mumbled words he couldn’t understand, the report says.
A criminal history check showed that Bloomfield had been arrested on battery charges on Oct. 3, 2012 and Sept. 1, 2018. Both charges were dropped/abandoned and Bloomfield didn’t have any prior convictions on her record, the report says.
Bloomfield was arrested Monday morning at Preferred Realty Management, located at 510 County Road 446 in Lady Lake, where she works as a manager. She was transported to the Lake County Jail and charged with grand theft, burglary auto (domestic assault or battery) and burglary (auto or other conveyance). She was released early Tuesday afternoon on $22,000 bond and is due in court Sept. 14 at 8:30 a.m. to answer to the charges, jail records show.
