Inset: Anthony Worley (Bay County Jail). Background: The Lagoon Motel in Panama City, Florida, where Worley assaulted his girlfriend (Google Maps).
A Georgia man is headed to prison after he broke his girlfriend”s nose and eye socket after he became incensed when someone paid her a compliment about her looks at a Florida motel.
Anthony Wayne Worley, 62, was sentenced to four years in prison with credit for the 381 days he’s already served, court records say. A jury last month convicted him of aggravated battery, domestic battery by strangulation and false imprisonment, the Bay County State Attorney’s Office said in a press release.
As Law&Crime previously reported, the incident occurred on Oct. 12, 2024, at a Lagoon Motel in Panama City. Prosecutors said fellow motel guests heard the victim screaming for help. A good Samaritan witnessed the victim screaming “help me” and “I’m trying to leave” as Worley held her by the arm and neck.
Prosecutors said the victim tried to run out of the motel room but Worley caught her and pulled her back inside. The good Samaritan helped the woman escape the room and had her run to his room. He stopped Worley from following her. She stayed in the man’s room until cops arrived.
Paramedics took the woman to the hospital where she had to undergo emergency surgery to repair her busted eye socket and nose.
The victim testified at trial that she and Worley, her boyfriend of about six months, were scouting the area for a potential place to live. While they were drinking, someone made an unsolicited but flattering remark about her appearance. This upset Worley, who started arguing with her. The victim then said she was “going back to Georgia,” according to the press release. Worley then repeatedly punched her, smothered her with a pillow and waved a loaded gun at her.
“I got one bullet for you and one bullet for me,” he told her.
Jurors convicted Worley in January after about an hour of deliberating. Prosecutor Jackson White credited the motel guest who intervened to help the victim.
“But for the brave actions of the Good Samaritan responding to her screams for help, there is no way to know what would have happened if the defendant had gotten her back into that room,” White said in a statement. “Because of his help, we do know the man who beat and threatened to shoot the victim is now facing prison time.”
