A Leesburg Uber driver was arrested Thursday night after a nasty battle erupted with a man when she attempted to pick up her daughter from a Marion County residence.
Micheala Ann Farling, 25, told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy that the victim was taking care of her daughter because she “wasn’t in a place to safety take care” of the child. She said she approached the victim and he refused to let her take the child. She said there wasn’t an altercation of any kind and mentioned that there was no type of custody order in place, a sheriff’s office report states.
The victim told the deputy he was speaking with Farling on the porch area of his residence when he told her he wasn’t going to let her take the child. He said she “began to act aggressive” toward him and bang on the outside window several times. He said he went back inside his residence and then heard the sound of breaking glass, the report says.
The victim said the window next to his front door was shattered and there was glass on the ground. He said he told Farling to leave and she refused to do so. He said he attempted to walk inside his residence and Farling followed him.
The victim told the deputy that when Farling couldn’t get past him, she hit him in the back several times. He said she never made it inside his residence and he was able to close the door, lock it and contact law enforcement for help.
Farling denied breaking the window but did admit to beating on it several times. She also denied striking the victim before being taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail.
Farling, who lives at 110 S. Nursery Rd. in Leesburg and listed her occupation as an Uber driver, was charged with battery and criminal mischief. She was being held on $1,000 bond and is due in court Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. to answer to the charges, jail records show.
