The well-known manager of the movie theaters in The Villages will escape prosecution in a case in which she had been charged with battery.
Rachael Leigh Ballou, 47, of Wildwood, was arrested Feb. 6
She had been traveling 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.
At a first appearance in Sumter County Court, the victim said he wanted to see Ballou’s bond condition modified and for her to be allowed to return to the family home. He also signed a waiver of prosecution.
The prosecutor’s office subsequently announced it would not proceed with the case.
