A 74-year-old Village of Rio Ponderosa man accused of threatening to shoot another man has been trespassed from a family pool in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
A 69-year-old Villages Recreation Department employee called Lady Lake Police for help this past Monday and when officers arrived, she told them the man had made the threat and then left the pool driving a dark-colored Buick convertible. She said she was afraid he might return and carry out the threat, a police report states.
The employee said she was checking IDs at the Rio Grande Family Pool and when she approached the man, he got upset and said he didn’t “like anyone with a red shirt on or who wears a name tag or badge,” referring to the uniform shirts commonly worn by recreation employees, the report says.
The employee said the man was rude and told her his ID was in his wallet in a nearby bag and she could go get it. She said she couldn’t find it and the man then got up and walked toward her while arguing about having to show his ID, the report says.
At that point, the employee said, another guest at the pool told the man to stop being rude. She said the two had a verbal confrontation and she heard the guest say, “Don’t threaten me.” She said the man then gathered up his belongings and left the pool.
The guest told officers that the man called the employee a derogatory name while looking for his ID, which he eventually located. The guest said the man told him “to mind his own business or he would shoot him.” He said the man then went to his car and appeared to be looking for something, but he never saw him produce a gun before leaving the pool, the report says.
A witness said he heard the man to tell the guest to “shut up,” to which he replied, “Make me.” He said the man then said he would “go to his car, get his gun and shoot him,” before exiting the pool and pacing back and forth for a little while before driving away.
An officer and a sergeant went to man’s home in the 300 block of Juarez Way, which is located near the pool. The man claimed the recreation employee went through his belongings looking for his ID and that was why he was upset with her. He denied making threats to get a gun or shoot anyone. But he admitted to saying “that is how people sometimes get hurt and shot” because they don’t mind their own business. The man also declined to provide a written statement about the incident, the report says.
The sergeant spoke with Villages Recreation Director John Rohan, who requested that the man be trespassed from the pool. The man was told that if he returned to the pool, he would be arrested. He “acknowledged” the trespass warning and said he wouldn’t be going back to the facility, the report says.