Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Shelly Brigette Seymour, 36, was arrested yesterday morning after a deputy reportedly found her unconscious next to a car with a child inside and she later allegedly attacked a hospital employee who would not let her leave the hospital.

At about 11:46 a.m. on December 28, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy saw a silver SUV parked on the median of W. Newberry Road, west of NW 98th Street, and a woman lying on the ground next to the SUV. The deputy turned around and requested an ambulance because the woman appeared to be unresponsive.

The deputy reported that the woman, who was later identified as Seymour, continued to be unresponsive, and when he checked inside the vehicle, he found a child in the driver’s seat who appeared to be around four years old; nobody else was in the car.

The deputy reported that the woman eventually opened her eyes, which were glassy, and she threw up while EMTs were checking her. The deputy reported that an open can of “Bahama Mama Clubtails” was in the car.

The deputy charged Seymour with child neglect for leaving the child unattended in the middle of a busy roadway; DCF responded to the vehicle and took custody of the child because no family member could be reached. Seymour was transported to the hospital.

At about 5:15 a.m. the next morning, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to the Clinical Decision Unit at HCA Florida North Florida Hospital, where a nursing supervisor said Seymour had tried several times to leave the hospital and that she asked him if she could make a phone call to check on her children, but he found out that she was actually trying to call someone to pick her up. He said she admitted this when she was confronted, and when he said she could no longer use the phone, she began swinging her fists at him.

The victim said Seymour pushed past him and walked down a hallway, and he followed. Other employees cut her off, and she allegedly charged the victim again and hit him multiple times in the face, chest, and arms. The victim said he restrained her against a wall, then took her to the floor, where she continued trying to hit him.

When the officer asked Seymour what happened, she reportedly said she just wanted the victim to get away from her, so she got out of her bed and tried to walk out of her room, but the victim blocked the doorway and said she could not leave. She said she tried to walk through his arms, he grabbed her, and she pushed him away. She said she walked around, trying to find an exit, with the victim following her, and then he pushed her against a wall and choked her, so she hit him to get away. She said he took her forcefully to the ground and kept her there until security arrived.

The deputy reported that Seymour did not have any visible injuries, but the victim had scratches on his hands.

A witness who was watching security cameras reportedly said he could only see the hallway where Seymour and the victim ended up, but he saw Seymour swinging her fists at the victim while he tried to block the punches.

A second witness said she heard a commotion and saw the victim “antagonize” Seymour by saying he was going to “call the cops.” She said the victim tried to restrain Seymour and Seymour started rapidly hitting him, then the victim took her to the ground and held her there until security arrived.

Seymour was transported to the jail and charged with battery on an emergency medical professional.

The deputy responded to the jail to interview Seymour, and post Miranda, she reportedly admitted she had gone shopping with the young child in Lake City and had consumed “clubtails,” perhaps two or three. She reportedly said she did not remember what happened after that and only remembered waking up in the hospital.

Seymour has no local criminal history. Judge Adam Lee set bail at $65,000 on the child neglect charge and $25,000 on the battery charge.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.