A report has revealed that a Villages couple’s son with a history of bizarre behavior was arrested last month at a psychiatric hospital in Hernando County.
A Lake County warrant had been issued Aug. 28 for 46-year-old Derek Baum after he failed to show up in court to answer to a charge of trespassing.
Baum was arrested Nov. 21 in the lobby of the 66-bed Springbrook Behavioral Hospital in Spring Hill. A check revealed he was wanted on the warrant and the New York native was taken into custody by a Hernando County sheriff’s deputy. The arrest warrant did not indicate what Baum was doing at the hospital.
He was transferred Nov. 27 to the Lake County Jail where he continues to be held on $2,000 bond.
Baum on Aug. 13 had been issued a notice to appear on the trespassing charge after he refused to leave Kilwins Chocolates & Ice Cream at Spanish Springs Town Square. The owner of the shop said Baum had been hanging around his store for several days, according to an incident report from the Lady Lake Police Department. He said Baum appeared to be homeless and had a “strong odor of feces.”
Baum, who had been living with his parents at 1225 Pompano Lane in the Village of Silver Lake, told police his mother “recently kicked him out of his residence and he wasn’t allowed to return.” He said he had been sleeping at Spanish Springs for about a week because he did not have any place to go.
Baum had been released July 25 from the Sumter County Detention Center after he was examined by an expert witness and found to be incompetent to proceed with a criminal case.
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 315 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.
In 2018, he was arrested in an incident at his parents’ home in the Village of Silver Lake.