Derek Britton
An 81-year-old Villager wearing a ski mask was arrested early Wednesday morning in an attack on his girlfriend.
Derek Britton, who lives at 2548 Caribe Drive in the Village of Santiago, was on the ground wrestling with his girlfriend when Lake County sheriff’s deputies responded at 3:30 a.m. to her home in Clermont.
The woman had been in bed when her security system notified her of activity outside her home. She viewed footage on her tablet and saw a man wearing a ski mask outside her front window, according to an arrest report. When she went to look for him, he was gone. She received another alert from her security system and rushed outside and saw the man in the ski mask spray painting her home. She then saw the man attempting to disconnect her security system. The man struck her in the face. They fell to the ground during a struggle, the ski mask came off and she was able to see it was Britton.
A neighbor heard the disturbance, came outside and witnessed the altercation.
A deputy recovered the ski mask, a can of black spray paint, a step stool and a red box cutter.
The woman in July received a six-month order of protection against Britton, who was represented in the matter by Leesburg City Commissioner Robert Bone, an attorney.
Britton was arrested on charges of aggravated stalking, possession of burglary tools, simple battery, criminal mischief and violation of an order of protection.
Britton, who was born in Ireland, was booked at the Lake County Jail on $30,000 bond.
