OCALA, Fla. – A woman who has been in and out of trouble for years is out of jail after taking a plea deal, rather than keep fighting her latest battery charge.
Police in Florida arrived to the “assault in progress” in the middle of the night in August and reported finding the 21-year-old victim “shirtless with her breasts uncovered. [The victim] was unable to put her shirt on, due to it being ripped. She was screaming and extremely upset, crying, advising that she had just been assaulted, “jumped” outside someone’s home.
“The suspect, later identified as Ariana Lofton, was also outside of the residence with her cousin,“ an officer wrote. “I walked with [the victim across the street to] the residence she was visiting before the assault occurred. [The victim’s] right side of her lip was swollen and bloody. The skin surrounding her right ankle was bleeding, as well as both of her knees.
“[The victim] advised that she arrived at the residence with her friend, [name], and the owner of the residence, [name], earlier in the day. [The victim] advised that she knows Lofton and Lofton’s girlfriend, and saw them as friends. [The victim] stated that she went outside and observed Lofton outside of the residence. Lofton approached and invited [the victim] over to eat ribs.
“When they approached the residence from the front yard, [the victim] advised that Lofton struck her in the face. [The victim] was unsure what part of Lofton struck her, but stated that she believed she was pistol-whipped, due to the force of the blow. [The victim] then began screaming for help while Lofton dragged her to the front of [the] residence. I did observe a lock of hair on the front walkway leading up to the house. [The victim] stated that Lofton continued punching her in front of [the] residence. I did observe a camera at the front door of the residence.”
The deputy was able to get video of the violence and reported seeing Lofton’s cousin “attempting to separate Lofton from the incident. He could be seen grabbing Lofton and attempting to guide her further south from the residence. Lofton was still able to get around [her cousin] and continued approaching [the victim], who was standing on the driver’s side of the vehicle parked directly in front of [the home’s] garage. Lofton then struck [the victim] and pulled her hair, which pulled [the victim] to the ground. While [the cousin] attempted to pull Lofton away, Lofton can be seen striking [the victim] twice in the back of her head with her right fist. Lofton then retreated to” the home across the street with her cousin.
Authorities were going to arrest Lofton for battery, but a separate arrest report said she left the home “and became aggressive, hostile, pointing her fingers in officers’ faces. Lofton had to be ordered several times to step back, eventually doing so. Upon taking a step back, Lofton again continued to yell, inciting the several people in the yard of the residence.
“It should be noted Lofton had injuries to her head to indicate she was involved in the fight. Due to Lofton’s aggressive behavior and her involvement in the fight, I attempted to secure her into handcuffs.
“I grabbed ahold of Lofton’s right arm and attempted to bring it behind her body; however, she immediately resisted by pulling her arms in front of her body and took a step forward in an attempt to get away from officers’ grasp. Officers struggled for several moments as Lofton continued to pull away; therefore, I attempted to place [Lofton] up against the front of the residence; however, the front door opened. Officers were able to get Lofton on the ground where she continued to resist officers’ efforts; however, she was ultimately secured in handcuffs without further incident.”
Lofton was charged with a second misdemeanor: resisting without violence. She was taken to the hospital and then booked into jail with a bandage under her right eye. She spent about 15 hours locked up until her release in lieu of $2,000 bond.
But she wouldn’t stay free, and the reason isn’t clear.
More than two months later, on Oct. 24, Lofton surrendered and was booked into jail. Court documents seemed to indicate issues with her bond.
There are also documents showing the judge revoked Lofton’s bond twice, but days after she was booked.
According to the order from Oct. 28, prosecutors asked for Lofton’s bond to be revoked in a motion on Oct. 25. The judge granted that, writing, “This court finds probable cause to believe Defendant committed a new crime while on pretrial release.”
Motion for Reduction of Bond, Oct. 29, 2024 by Lenny Cohen on Scribd
A defense Motion for Reduction of Bond on Oct. 29 revealed Lofton had been “arrested on new battery charges,” but that new case disappeared from the county court website.
A check on the arrest report when it was available said the victim was an ex-girlfriend and “the relationship ended approximately six months ago. Within the past month, the defendant and victim have been on a date, and have been intimate on multiple occasions.”
Then, it said Lofton “struck the victim in the head and pushed her fingers into the victim’s face,” while driving.
Later, at home, “The defendant threw the victim’s phone at the victim.”
Also, “The defendant struck the victim again and pulled her hair. … At some point during the altercation, the defendant threw an empty bottle of alcohol and a stick at the victim, both of which struck the victim. The victim was able to use pepper spray on the defendant out of fear the defendant would escalate her violence towards the victim.”
And in the end, “I observed the victim’s hair to be disheveled and a scratch on her leg where she indicated she was struck by the stick. I also observed some belongings on the ground from the defendant emptying the victim’s bag on the ground. I located the victim’s key in the grassy area near the front of the residence, along with a shirt, which were thrown by the defendant.”
There’s no explanation for why the case disappeared, but that arrest led the judge to issue a second Order to Revoke Bond on Nov. 1.
A few days later, Lofton changed her plea to no contest and was released from jail after 10 days.
Lofton’s long criminal history, at least in Marion County, started over the summer of 2012 when she was charged with committing an affray, described in the statute as “fighting with another person in a public place to the terror of the people.” Two months later, the charge was dropped.
That November, she was charged with aggravated battery with deadly weapon. That ended 22 months later when the charge was dropped. Neither arrest report was made available.
September 2014 was a busy month for Lofton.
First, she was driving without a valid license. Two months later, she pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 15 days in jail with credit for one day served, and $1,175.50 in fines and court costs.
Lofton was already in jail at the time, after an arrest for burglary and grand theft of $300 to $20,000. She ended up serving almost five months before the charges was dropped.
Then came a few traffic infractions over the next few years, in addition to Lofton getting caught twice driving with a suspended license.
In November 2017, she was charged with resisting without violence for being in someone’s SUV, “hanging out of the front passenger window,” the arrest report said. Lofton “then yelled ‘f*** y’all’ at us and the vehicle sped away,” an officer added.
Authorities caught up with her, “breathing heavily, and I could smell alcohol on her breath,” an officer reported, and said they “requested to see Lofton’s identification, or for her to at least tell us who she is, but she repeatedly denied to do so.” Lofton was arrested after a brief struggle.
A few months later, she was sentenced to 30 days in jail with credit for one day served, and 15 hours of community service. Her jail time was deferred and she didn’t serve her sentence.
The following June, she was pulled over for a bad headlight, two bad tail lights, and a “non-functioning tag light,” but arrested for having a plate “unassigned to any vehicle.” The deputy mentioned having spoken with Lofton “approximately a month-and-a-half ago” and “giving her a warning about the registration and unassigned tag.” She quickly pleaded no contest and was sentenced to pay a few hundred dollars in fines and court costs.
But Lofton was back behind bars a few weeks later, charged with aggravated domestic battery at a park. The victim was Lofton’s “girlfriend of two-and-a-half years, and her “shirt was ripped and she was bottomless,” according to the arrest report, which gave no explanation for that last statement. It did say she was also “clearly upset, crying, and was hesitant to describe what happened,” then “uncooperative in recounting the incident in detail.” That may have led to the charge being dropped a month later. Lofton had reportedly claimed “the victim had cheated on her.”
Finally, sheriff’s office records show Lofton was arrested for battery in October 2018, but there was no court case.
Judgment & Sentence, Nov. 4, 2024 by Lenny Cohen on Scribd
This time, for beating up the young woman in September, Lofton was sentenced to 13 days in jail with time served and a year of probation. Also, a 10-week anger management course, a 250 word letter of apology to the officer she resisted, and no contact with the battery victim.
Plus, for the battery, Lofton, 31, was sentenced to 40 community service hours with the county Solid Waste Department. (Really!)
No motive for the violence was given.
Discover more from CohenConnect.com
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
