Woman flashes buttocks, bites another shopper and hits her with hand sanitizer in brawl at discount store
HOBART, INDIANA: A vicious brawl broke out at a Dollar General Store in Hobart, Indiana, on Sunday, September 6, afternoon. Sales racks tumbled down and there was merchandise strewn all over the floor after a fight between two women at the store.
Two Hobart women now face charges including battery and indecent criminal mischief, Hobart Capt. James Gonzalez said. Tachanta Hopkins, 28, has been identified as one of the women in the store brawl. She flashed her backside after biting a fellow shopper and was also seen clobbering the victim with hand sanitizer as well. As a result of this incident, Hopkins faces charges including indecent exposure. The other party in this incident is the 45-year-old Julie Ortez who sent the merchandise in the shop flying when she put Hopkins in a tight headlock.
Hopkins in a statement said that the fight started after Ortez interfered in an argument that the former was having with another customer over the checkout line and she also allegedly violated Hopkins' personal space. She also told the police that Ortez's height left her feeling vulnerable.
A video clip of their altercation was uploaded by another shopper at the store who watched the whole fight unravel, reported Metro. They captioned the video: "Just another day at the dollar store, man." The video begins with Hopkins yelling: ‘Don’t fu** with me, you f*****g b***h! You know who you f*****g with? Stupid a** b***h!’.
At one point, Hopkins is seen trying to hit Ortez with an umbrella but an employee deflected the blow and Hopkins ended up falling down. Hopkins seemed to be backing away from the fight and walking toward the exit, which is when Ortez pursues her and knocks her into a display of Halloween decorations, the video shows. It also seems as if Hopkins misplaced her phone and we can hear her asking her for her phone.
The altercation turned even more violent when Hopkins picked up a display stand and hurled it at Ortez. Next, the women grappled in front of the Dollar General door. Ortez got behind Hopkins and held her right arm around her neck, after which Hopkins bit her arm which then prompted a loud curse from Ortez where she called Hopkins "a f*****g dog." The staff members at the store protested the altercation, however, from a distance, and all their pleas fell on deaf ears as the women continued bickering. Ortez threw a plastic skull at Hopkins while Hopkins fired back with a huge volume of hand sanitizer.
After both women left the store, Hopkins was intercepted by the police and she admitted to the police that she walked outside and pulled down her pants and smacked her buttocks because “the devil had taken control over her actions,” court documents state. While charges had been filed Wednesday, September 9, neither person was in police custody as of Wednesday, Gonzalez said.
"This donnybrook between these two ladies at the Dollar General was released on Facebook and their behavior in the video leaves a lot to be desired," Gonzalez said as quoted by The Anniston Star. "It seems that tempers have been easily flared during this pandemic and people aren't treating each other with dignity or respect. We encourage the public to try to remain respectful to others. We understand that many of us are under a great deal of stress with all of the things occurring in our society and our professional and personal lives. Please bear in mind that life's current challenges shall pass, and we will all move forward as we have in the past."