The well-known manager of the movie theaters in The Villages was arrested after an alleged attack over a cell phone.
Rachael Leigh Ballou, 46, of Wildwood, was being held Wednesday morning at the Sumter County Detention Center.
She is facing a charge of battery following an attack witnessed by Ballou’s mother and daughter, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
Ballou is the friendly face of the Villages’ movie theaters, the Rialto, Old Mill Playhouse and the Barnstorm Theater. She is regularly heard on AM-640 WVLG and in various promotions for upcoming movies.
Ballou had been traveling Tuesday afternoon with the victim on Interstate 75 on the way home from a doctor’s appointment in Gainesville. The two had been discussing the doctor’s appointment when Ballou “got angrier and started yelling at the victim to ‘shut up,’” the arrest report said. She placed her hands over his mouth and told him to “stop talking.” She allegedly punched him in the right arm. She later admitted she had done so, “really hard.” She said she had placed her hands over his mouth and “squeezed with her nails.”
When they returned to their home on U.S. Hwy. 301, the victim had Ballou’s cell phone. Ballou came out of her bedroom and “leaped” on the victim in an attempt to take the phone.
She was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. She was released after posting $500 bond.
