A Citra woman is accused of battering a man who was trying to break up a fight between her and another woman.

Sandra Janette Gordon, 35, was charged with simple battery after the recent incident. Gordon has been arrested a dozen times in Marion County since 2007, most recently in November 2019 on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to jail records.

The woman who reported the incident told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy that Gordon has been on and off drugs for years and that she most recently found Gordon sleeping in her car after it broke down. She said she let Gordon stay in her shed while she was sobering up and getting her vehicle fixed. The relationship between Gordon, the reporting party and the victim wasn’t established in the sheriff’s office report.

The reporting party said Gordon kicked a television that was in the shed, which led to an argument between the two. She said Gordon got into her face and was screaming at her when they got into a physical altercation. The deputy was unable to determine the primary aggressor in the fight, the report said.

The reporting party said the victim came out of the main house to break up the altercation. She said after the victim struggled to get Gordon off her, Gordon hit him on the shoulder, according to the report.

The victim told the deputy that Gordon and the reporting party had been arguing on the day. He said he saw them go into the shed and he heard yelling and screaming. The victim said when he went into the shed, the women were fighting over a cell phone. He said he pulled Gordon off the other woman, who said to Gordon, “Don’t you dare hit him.” The victim said Gordon punched him in the left shoulder and said, “I hit him. What are you going to do now?” the report said.

After being read her Miranda rights, Gordon said the reporting party was on top of her, trying to get her cell phone, after she told her she was recording the incident. She said the victim was also on her and trying to get the phone. Gordon admitted there was a physical altercation, but she denied ever saying, “I hit him. What are you going to do now?” according to the report.

The deputy observed the victim had a small red mark and a scratch on his left shoulder consistent with his statement, and a long scratch in his back that he said was most likely from the struggle, the report said.

Gordon was taken to the Marion County Jail and is due to appear in Marion County Court on April 15.

MARION COUNTY, Fla. —

The potential location of a new animal services center is a big source of tension in Marion County.

The proposal in concern. A permit for Marion County officials to build and relocate their Animal Services Center to 137 acres in Citra on an old horse farm.

The signs planted along West County Road 316 in Citra echo what many neighbors feel.

That's why dozens showed up in the middle of the afternoon on Tuesday to share their thoughts at a commission meeting. Some neighbors begged for no dog kennels near them.

"I said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘Yeah, they can move all the animal control services up to there, and there's going to be 400 dogs.’ And even here, which is a mile away, approximately. The noise is going to be horrific,” neighbor Peter Atkins said.

Others say that it's needed.

"The current shelter just is not sufficient for the number of animals that are here in Marion County today,” Kathy Leinert-Whitehead with the county said.

The county says it would allow them to expand the facility to increase capacity for all animal types within the shelter—specifically, their kennel capacity from 213 to 400 dogs.

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The county says the kennel will be centrally located, while other buildings will house people–one for animal control staff members and the other for full-time staff for after-hour operations. But many worry this peaceful area will soon get loud and crowded.

"One of the reasons we come here, live side by side horse people, is because of the quiet,” neighbor Kim Benson said.

"No one's going to drive from southern Marion County or The Villages up to north Marion County. So unless they're to adopt a dog, they need to be spread out over the whole county as they are now,” Atkins said.

"I have been appalled at the treatment of animals here in Marion County for the size of Marion County,” Whitehead said. “There is absolutely no real resources for the animals that are constantly being dumped, that roam as strays that are injured."

Tuesday was the first read of the permit application, but further hearings may be required to finalize what will happen to the property.

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They gathered at the Citra Community Center the other day for a reunion and homecoming for the historic Citra school, a joyous but damp gathering of old-timers who could remember the good times (and bad) when it seemed this North Marion community could survive any obstacle to progress.

Of course, memories didn't go that far back, but when the Florida Peninsular Railroad finally reached down from Waldo to Citra in 1880, many residents knew the community was well on its way to becoming a trade center. The future seemed unlimited.

Citra already was the center of the citrus industry, with citrus trees spreading over the countryside south of Orange Lake “as far as the eye could see,” as one visitor put it. The road coming down from Island Grove, across the east end of Orange Lake, wasn't much, but as time marched on, it would turn into a part of the much-advertised Dixie Highway, then the four-lane U.S. 301.

The arrival of a second railroad, the Florida Southern coming out of Palatka, was seen as positive proof that citrus and other agricultural products would have easy access to northern markets and better profits than ever before.

Under the leadership of men like E.L. Wartmann, J.B. Borland and, later, W.J. Crosby and many others, Citra's economic role in Marion County seemed assured. What they didn't figure on were freezes and economic collapse. But all of that was in the future in the 1880s.

The beginning of orange culture was already there, around Orange Lake, when the first settlers came after the United States took ownership of Florida from the Spanish. Some say the Indians dropped seed from oranges they obtained from the Spanish to account for the plethora of orange trees, which were mostly sour orange.

What these observers failed to note were the Spanish missions, and the real possibility that the religious men who sought to convert the natives to their brand of religion actually planted groves to supply an ample amount of fruit. Whatever the case, the first settlers found orange trees and saw the potential.

Eventually, the Citra area would become known as the home of the sweet pineapple orange, the finest citrus fruit to be found anywhere. It was a great marketing tool, and was effective as long as the citrus industry lasted in this area.

The industry's decline is a sad, sad story, and today few citrus trees are to be seen.

Finding some documentation of the first schools in the Citra area ranges from difficult to impossible at this late date.

There are references to “the old Citra school.” The Citra New Era mentions the opening of the Citra Free School in September 1887, with Irma Porter and Miss E.R. Wartmann as teachers.

Citra came into the modern era in the spring of 1901, when an election was held to create a special tax district for the Citra school.

It was one of four such elections held in the county that year, all of them receiving a favorable vote.

Only in Anthony did a special election run into trouble. The tax district there was voted down, presumably because there was a serious, fist-shaking debate between Anthony and Sparr about the attendance zones.

Citra had a tax district but no money. J.B. Borland represented the Citra school at a meeting in Ocala where School Superintendent W.D. Carn told the new district representatives they would have to go to the banks to borrow money against future tax receipts. Citra had no bank at the time. That would come later.

In 1903, the county school board bought three wagons from A.G. Gates in Ocala to transport students. One of those wagons began to haul outlying children to the Citra school. That may have been the beginning of today's massive school transportation system.

School trustees C.W. Driver, Wartmann and Crosby went before the county school board in 1913 to seek an $8,000 bond issue to build a new facility for the Citra school. A year later, the bond issue was approved unanimously by the property owners.

E.C. Hosford was hired to design the school and W.V. Henry of Jacksonville was awarded the contract to build the school. The new school was completed in 1915 at a cost of $10,265. It took an act of the State Legislature to validate the bonds, but that is another story.

The old school building, which had served only white students, was moved to a new location where it became a school for black students.

Another election had to be held to gain approval to expand Citra's tax district because the money coming in wouldn't cover school costs. That worked, but not without controversy. In the end, however, another bond issue was necessary.

Trustees R.S. Shortridge, I.J. Ellis and Crosby sought approval of a new bond issue for only $2,500. It was approved by the voters.

With the coming of World War I, the Citra schools went on short terms. By 1920, the Sparr district was asking to discontinue its school and assign the students to Citra. However, the Sparr school was continued at that time. But consolidation was on the horizon.

In 1935, the county school board asked for federal money to construct an auditorium and renovate the Citra school. A $15,000 grant was approved two years later, and Frank Parziale of Ocala was hired as architect. H.B. Trauger of Lakeland got the construction contract.

An election was held in 1941 for approval to begin consolidating the county’s many high schools. It was a clear warning of what was coming. In the 1950s, a state team called for a new school to serve North Marion. It took awhile, but the eventual result was North Marion High School at a new location. Memories of the Citra school extend back from there.

An avid Marion County historian, David Cook is a retired editor of the Star-Banner. He may be contacted at 237-2535.

A 41-year-old Citra man is facing multiple felony charges for pawning radiators that he allegedly stole from a local construction company.

On Monday, October 16, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived at Art Walker Construction (18991 NE 24th Avenue in Citra) in reference to a theft incident. An employee told the deputy that around four weeks earlier, it was discovered that the fence securing the property had been cut and approximately 10 radiators ($1,000 value/each) had been removed from the premises, according to the arrest report.

The employee advised that a witness had observed a red and silver Dodge pickup truck near an unfenced section of the property on Wednesday, October 11. According to the employee, the truck drove away at a high rate of speed when the witness attempted to get closer, though the witness was able to get a photo of the vehicle’s license plate.

The employee stated that on Sunday, October 15, the same Dodge pickup truck returned to the unfenced section of the property and was observed on security camera footage entering the property with an empty truck bed. When the truck left a short time later, the employee stated that there appeared to be “multiple radiators in the back,” according to the report.

On Thursday, October 19, an MCSO detective made contact with the employee at the business and observed video surveillance footage from the previous day. In the report, the detective noted that the same red and silver Dodge pickup truck had returned to the unfenced area of the property during the day, and a man exited the truck and began loading tires into the back of the vehicle.

The employee told the detective that the pickup truck returned again later in the evening on October 19 and drove around a “pile of metal parts to be scrapped.” When the employee inspected the scrap pile, he stated that multiple exhaust pipes ($25 value/each) were missing, according to the report.

The detective noted in the report that a computer check of the pickup truck’s license plate revealed that the tag was registered to Eddie Rodriguez Jackson.

In addition, the detective noted that a computer check of electronic surveillance records revealed that the pickup truck traveled south from the intersection of Highway 329 and Highway 441 on October 16, and “multiple large radiators” were visible in the back of the truck.

The detective also checked pawn shop transactions and discovered that Jackson had pawned 126 pounds of brass radiators on September 21 for approximately $228, 56 pounds of brass radiators on October 12 for just over $100, and 69 pounds of brass radiators on October 16 for nearly $125, according to the report.

On October 19, the detective made contact with Jackson in the 18100 block of NE 24th Avenue, less than a mile from the business. Jackson was standing next to his pickup truck, and the detective noted that he refused to answer any questions about the incident.

In the bed of Jackson’s pickup truck, the detective observed three large exhaust pipes that “appeared to be from heavy construction equipment.” The detective sent a photo of the pipes to the employee who stated that they appeared to be the exhaust pipes that were stolen from the scrap pile.

Jackson was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $28,000 bond. He is facing felony charges for unarmed burglary of an unoccupied structure, grand theft over $10,000 but less than $20,000, dealing in stolen property (three counts), and providing false information to a pawnbroker (three counts).

A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.

A 38-year-old man is behind bars after he ran a stop sign in Reddick and led Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies on a high-speed chase that came to an end in Citra.

On Wednesday, two MCSO deputies were in a stationary patrol car near the intersection of NW 155th Street and Highway 441 in Reddick when a red pickup truck was observed running a stop sign at the intersection. The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle was later identified as Graham Harley Taggart, according to the arrest report.

The report stated that Taggart traveled at a high rate of speed and crossed the northbound lane of Highway 441 into the median. His pickup truck then “fishtailed” nearly 180 degrees before traveling southbound on Highway 441 with a “willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.”

Both deputies eventually caught up to the pickup truck, and a traffic stop was attempted in the 13400 block of S Highway 441. Taggart refused to stop and led the deputies to the intersection of highway 329 and Highway 441, where he narrowly avoided two cars at the red light while maneuvering to the left turn lane, according to the report.

Taggart then ran the red light, made a U-turn, and headed northbound on Highway 301 at speeds reaching 70 to 75 miles per hour. When he reached the intersection of E Highway 316, the report stated that the pickup truck swerved and nearly exited the roadway onto the grass shoulder.

While approaching the intersection of NE 175th Street and Highway 301, Taggart stopped quickly to avoid colliding with a semi-truck that had stopped in front of him. He then proceeded to turn onto 175th Street and began heading eastbound, and he attempted to “brake check” one of the deputies, according to the report.

Deputies continued to pursue Taggart as his pickup truck reached speeds of up to 90 miles per hour. He eventually approached the intersection of 175th Street and Highway 316, and deputies observed the pickup truck as it ran the stop sign at the intersection and headed westbound on Highway 316.

The report stated that deputies placed stop sticks on the roadway near the intersection of Highway 316 and NE 47th Avenue, though Taggart avoided them by briefly swerving off the roadway. Additional stop sticks were placed near the railroad tracks at the intersection of Highway 316 and NE 21st Avenue Road, and they managed to puncture the pickup truck’s front driver’s side tire.

The punctured tire was “falling apart” as the pickup truck ran another stop sign and turned onto NE Jacksonville Road. The vehicle finally came to a stop in the 15600 block of NE Jacksonville Road in Citra, and Taggart exited the vehicle, according to the report.

Taggart initially tensed his muscles and tucked his right arm in front of him to prevent the deputies from securing him in handcuffs, though the report stated that he eventually surrendered and was detained in the back of a patrol car.

Deputies learned that during the pursuit, Taggart had called his father and stated, “I don’t know what to do, I don’t want to go back to jail,” according to the report.

Taggart was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $6,500 bond. He is facing a felony charge for fleeing to elude a law enforcement officer with disregard of safety to persons or property, along with misdemeanor charges for reckless driving (first offense) and resisting an officer without violence.

A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.