An elderly Mount Dora man and his Ohio mistress were arrested after allegedly attacking his girlfriend when she confronted them about prior battery instances.
A deputy responded to a battery at an undisclosed Lake County residence around 4:50 p.m. Monday, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Upon arrival, the deputy met with 84-year-old Gordon Dale Smith who advised that his roommate, the victim, randomly attacked him and his friend, 85-year-old Karen Armentrout. The three of them were having a discussion when the victim became angry. She started hitting them and throwing chairs at them, as well. Smith stated the victim gave him several superficial injuries to his face and chest, the report said.
The deputy asked Smith about his relationship with the victim, and he stated he allowed her to stay in his guestroom for some time with her small child because she had fallen into hard times. She had now become a problem at his residence, and he wanted her gone. He also admitted that she was recording him on her phone, and he slapped it out of her hand, the report said.
The deputy then spoke to the victim who advised that she was having a conversation with Smith and Armentrout about previous unreported batteries. She asked them to stop hitting her because it had been an ongoing issue. Smith became angry with her because she was recording the conversation and letting her family listen to it over the phone, the report said.
Smith slapped the victim’s phone out of her hand and started to hit her. He then slammed the phone to the ground and tried to crush it to destroy the recording. The victim next showed law enforcement the recording, the report said.
As the deputy listened, he could hear the victim telling Smith and Armentrout to stop hitting her or she would call the police on them. He heard a struggle over the phone before it slammed down to the ground followed by a dragging noise, the report said.
The victim showed the deputy her phone, and there was evidence the screen had been dragged across pavement. She also stated she defended herself against Smith, and Armentrout jumped into the fight to hit her, as well. She hit them both with a chair in self-defense but sustained some scratches to her forehead and disheveled hair from having it pulled, the report said.
The victim further advised that she and Smith had been in an on-and-off sexual relationship for years. She lived in his house because she was his girlfriend. However, Armentrout was also sleeping with Smith. The issues in the household came forth because Smith had not been honest with Armentrout about the relationship he had with the victim, the report said.
The deputy then met with the witness, a neighbor to Smith and the victim at 2535 Crescent Dr. She heard the commotion of the fight happening in the victim’s backyard. She went over to the house and saw Smith hitting the victim with a chair, the report said.
The witness asked the victim if she wanted the police to be called, but she declined because she did not want him to get arrested. She had been made aware of multiple domestic violence between Smith and the victim because the victim always came to her home for safety, the report said.
Armentrout advised that she had early dementia and could not remember anything. The deputy asked how their conversation turned into a physical altercation, and she stated she could not remember. She stated the victim went crazy on her and started throwing chairs at her and Smith, the report said.
The deputy asked if she would give a written statement, and Armentrout said she would not be able to. She later admitted Smith hit the victim first, but she was only trying to separate the two of them. This resulted in her being hit, too, the report said.
Smith was arrested on charge of simple battery (domestic). He was transported to Lake County Jail and released after posting $5,000 bond.
Armentrout was arrested for simple battery (non-domestic). She was taken to jail and released after posting $1,000 bond.