A shopping companion allegedly turned violent after an ill-fated trip to Walmart.
Steven Anthony Solomon, 31, of Wildwood, went with a female companion in his truck Sunday to Walmart at Buffalo Ridge Plaza in The Villages, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. While they were in the store Christmas shopping, an argument broke out and the woman “became frustrated” and went outside to wait for Solomon by his truck.
Solomon walked out of the store about 15 minutes later and they left in his truck. The woman noticed that Solomon “did not drive the normal way back” and “took a long way through backroads.”
While they were traveling in the truck, Solomon, who stands 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 230 pounds, grabbed the woman’s head and then her turtleneck in such a way it made it hard for her to breathe. Solomon removed a gun from the truck’s center console and held it on his lap.
Once they returned to the residence, Solomon parked behind the woman’s vehicle so she could not leave. He would not let her leave the truck and put her in chokehold. At one point, he threatened to kill her and himself.
Solomon was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, battery and false imprisonment. He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center on $26,000 bond.