A Villager has been jailed again after violating a court order to stay away from her home and her estranged man friend.
Gretchen Mitchell, 70, was booked without bond Wednesday at the Sumter County Detention Center on a charge of contempt of court. Her next court appearance is set for April 5.
Sumter County sheriff’s deputies originally were called to investigate a physical disturbance at about 5 p.m. Feb. 17 at Mitchell’s home at 2195 Kerwood Loop in the Village of Amelia. Mitchell told deputies that she suspected her man friend had been “unfaithful” and she wanted him to leave. She admitted she became “upset,” threw clothes at him and used her hand to “smack” him, according to an arrest report. The Massachusetts native, who stands 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 120 pounds, was arrested on a charge of battery and spent the night at the jail, where she was initially held without bond.
The next day, which happened to be Mitchell’s 70th birthday, a judge set bond and she was released. She got a ride home with a friend and was dropped off back at her home in the Village of Amelia. When she walked through the door, wearing the same clothes she had been wearing the previous evening, she ordered her man friend out of her home. He refused to leave and dialed 911. When a deputy arrived, Mitchell said she wasn’t leaving. She was arrested for violating a court order which forbade her from having contact with the man and from setting foot in her own home.
Mitchell has lived in her home since 2009. She has had sole ownership of the home since 2020.
