A Villagers’ son has been declared incompetent and released back into Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
Derek Baum, 46, was examined by an expert witness and found to be incompetent to proceed with a criminal case, according to documents on file in Sumter County Court. He had been lodged at the Sumter County Detention Center since May, but by order of the court he has been released on his own recognizance.
He had been arrested April 1 after claiming to be a Seminole Indian and refusing to leave The Villages Regional Hospital. Baum, who stands 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 350 pounds, said he “owned” the land and could not be evicted from it. Several times, Baum was offered the chance to get in a taxi and leave the premises. He refused and was arrested on a charge of trespassing.
He had been free on bond but was arrested May 3 after he failed to appear in court.
In 2018, he was arrested in an incident at his parents’ home in the Village of Silver Lake. He claimed the home was located on an Indian reservation.
