Croom-a-Coochee. Florida



From the Leesburg Daily Commercial of September 23, 2004

Man rams house, is shot



A Center Hill man was shot and then arrested after he rammed his pickup into his former girlfriend’s home and threatened her with a hammer, according to Lt. Bobby Caruthers.



Caruthers said Troy Lee Jennings, 46, had gotten into an argument with a woman he previously lived with, Judith Carr, on Tuesday night while the two were in Center Hill. During the argument, Jennings managed to break the steering column on Carr’s Ford Expedition, but Carr called her 20-year-old son Donald to pick her up.



Caruthers said Carr received threatening phone calls at her mobile home in Croom-a-Coochee throughout the night from Jennings, and around 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, Jennings rammed his GMC pickup into the bedroom area of the home.



Though Jennings caused only minimal damage to the home, he then grabbed a hammer from inside his truck and shattered the window into Carr’s bedroom, Caruthers said. Carr ran from the room, and at the same time, her son Donald ran in and shot Jennings twice with a 22-caliber rifle.



Jennings was hit in the right arm and in the right shoulder blade, Caruthers said.



Jennings was transported to South Lake Hospital, but was released Wednesday afternoon and taken to the Sumter County jail.



Caruthers said he is being charged with three counts of aggravated battery and one count of burglary. He is being held without bond.



Caruthers said Donald Carr will probably not be charged for shooting Jennings.



“At this time, detectives are going to do the report and review it with the State Attorney’s Office, but it is their belief that Donald was using self-defense because his mother was being attacked with this hammer and their house was rammed by this vehicle,” he said.