A Florida woman is facing charges after police say a petty Walmart line dispute turned into an ugly attack on a 79-year-old shopper.
Keri Estep, 34, was charged with battery on a person over 65 after the January incident at a Walmart in Sunrise, Florida. According to authorities, the confrontation started while both women were waiting in line.
Police say Estep accused the older woman of cutting in front of her, setting off a heated verbal argument. But things did not stop there.
According to investigators, Estep allegedly struck the 79-year-old woman in the chest and kicked her during the confrontation.
Even more disturbing, the older woman later told police that Estep called her an “old lady” and said she “deserved it.”
A security guard at the store reportedly saw the argument escalating and stepped in to try to break it up. Estep allegedly claimed the older woman had hit her shopping cart, which had her baby in it. But the older woman denied that accusation and said she never touched the cart.
Police said that even after the security guard got between them, Estep still managed to get around him and kick the elderly woman.
In body-camera footage, the 79-year-old woman can be heard telling an officer that Estep “reached out and kicked me in my side.” She said she did not need medical attention, but made it clear she wanted to press charges.
The woman also told officers that Estep accused her of cutting in line, but she insisted that was not true because there were two lanes. She said the situation quickly spiraled and Estep began “beating on” her.
When police later questioned Estep, she reportedly claimed she was worried about her baby’s safety and believed the older woman was acting aggressively. But after officers told her surveillance footage backed up the older woman’s version of events, Estep admitted her original account was “inaccurate.”
Estep was booked into the Broward County Jail and later posted $2,500 bail.
Her next court date was not immediately available.