A local golf instructor has entered a plea to a charge of domestic battery in connection with his Feb. 19 arrest after an altercation with his 17-year-old son.
Stephen Michael Wresh, 55, this week entered a plea of not guilty in the case in Lake County Court. He remains free on $3,000 bond.
He has retained attorney Nicholas Stack to represent him in the case.
The judge has issued a No Victim Contact order in the case. It means Wresh cannot phone, text or email his son or go within 500 feet of him.
Wresh, 55, was arrested at his home on Willow Circle in Fruitland Park after his wife called 911.
The Continental Country Club golf pro had arrived at home and was enraged that his son had not completed his chore of loading the dishwasher, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Wresh began yelling at his son and grew angrier when the teen walked away, headed toward his bedroom and locked the door. The teen then noticed that the cable wiring that connects his laptop to the internet was being pulled from the wall. Wresh then forced the bedroom door open and took the laptop.
The teen tried to go to his mother, but Wresh stood in his path and tried to put him in a headlock, the report indicated. The teen bit Wresh’s hand and was able to break free. He ran back to his bedroom, but Wresh followed him, pushed open the door and pushed his son on the chest, knocking him onto the bed. He grabbed the teen’s right hand and put him in a wristlock.
Wresh’s wife then called 911.
When deputies arrived on the scene, they spoke to Wresh in the driveway. The report noted that the odor of alcohol was detected on Wresh’s breath. He admitted that he had “chest bumped” and “body checked” his son.
