Woman Has Dispute With Her Landlord, Throws Feces On Her

Joanne Mercader, 59, was arrested and charged with battery on a person 65 or older after she threw a bucket of human feces on her landlord, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.



Deputies responded to a trailer in Osteen, near Deltona in Central Florida, around 5:15 p.m. Saturday where they found a woman dripping in human waste and Mercader with caked feces on her face, the agency says.



Mercader originally claimed to be the victim, initially telling deputies that her landlord had tossed the bucket of feces onto her “as a method of eviction,” the incident report says.



“My landlord just broke into my house and assaulted me,” Mercader said, according to the body cam footage.



When asked why she had dried feces smeared across her cheeks, she attempted to explain her appearance.



“She took the poop and rubbed it all over [my face],” Mercader said.



Deputies, however, were confused, especially after she admitted that this was part of her ongoing dispute with the landlord.



“In a long time that I’ve been doing this job, I’ve never seen anything like it, okay?” the deputy replied. “I’m not disputing what you’re telling me but... she’s dripping with it, soaking wet. [Yours] is not.”



Mercader later confessed to accidentally throwing the bucket at the landlord “as soon as she entered the residence,” according to the report. The toss, however, wasn’t an accident — it was the contents.



“Joanne claimed she intended to use a bucket of water but got the two buckets confused,” the deputy wrote.



Jail records show Mercader posted her bond late Sunday morning. Her arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 29.