A Leesburg woman was arrested after allegedly attacking a mother and her daughter for seemingly no reason.
Police responded to a battery complaint near South Ninth Street and West Dixie Avenue around 5:01 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 1, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. The caller advised that 32-year-old Tanisha Lacole Payton had been in a fight with her daughter, and they were now following her in the area.
One of the officers found Payton near South Ninth Street and Kolb Street as she walked north on the sidewalk. She advised that she had been in a physical altercation with a female in an undisclosed area. During the altercation, several other women joined in and “jumped” her, the report said.
Payton gave little details about the incident and just wanted to get away from the officer. When he told her that she was not free to leave until the investigation was over, she stated that she needed to contact the police and got her phone from her pocket. The officer explained that he was an officer and would place her under arrest if she dialed 911 because there was no emergency other than her being upset with him, the report said.
Despite this warning, Payton proceeded to call 911. The officer heard the dispatchers over the phone that was on speaker and confirmed that she called 911. She was thus placed under arrest for misuse of 911 and transported to LPD for booking, the report said.
Additional officers then responded to the initial incident location and spoke with the victims. The first victim stated she was on her porch when Payton approached and came up to her daughter, the second victim. Payton shoved her daughter and began trying to fight her unprovoked. The first victim tried to intervene, and Payton began punching and hitting her. Her daughter attempted to stop Payton from attacking the first victim when she in turn got struck, the report said.
The first victim sustained an abrasion to her right elbow, a small cut and swelling on her lip, and a swollen lump on the left side of her forehead. Her daughter sustained a cut to her right hand and had some swelling to her right wrist, the report said.
A witness provided the same account of the incident as both victims. She saw the altercation through the kitchen window of the residence. Due to the altercation happening at the front door of the residence, she was unable to get out and intervene, the report said.
Payton was ultimately charged with two counts of battery (simple touch or strike) and misuse of 911 (make false 911 calls). She was transported to the Lake County Jail with bond set at $3,000.
She was also arrested in October 2023 for stealing a gun belt from a decorative scarecrow at LPD.
