A Dollar General store cashier was arrested early Monday morning after a backpack incident sparked a violent altercation while giving a woman a ride home from work.
Kalli Rose Johnson, 20, of Silver Springs, was in the passenger seat of a van that contained her boyfriend and three other people. During the course of the ride, one of the female passengers threw her backpack into third row of seating in the van, accidentally striking another woman.
The female passenger said Johnson immediately started questioning her about why she struck the woman with her backpack. She said she ignored the questions, which prompted Johnson to turn around from the passenger seat and begin striking her in the face an estimated 10-12 times, alternating between open and closed fist, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office report states.
The victim said she wasn’t sure what hand Johnson used because she was trying to block the punches with her right hand, the report says, adding that she then climbed into the third row of seats to get away from the attack.
When a deputy spoke with Johnson at a friend’s house in the 8500 block of NE 174th Court Road, she said she believed the woman intentionally struck the other woman with her backpack, so she slapped her in the face, the report says.
After other passengers inside the van confirmed that Johnson struck the woman, she was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail, where she was charged with battery. She was released on $1,000 bond Monday afternoon.
