A Villager who was sentenced last year to six months in jail has landed back behind bars after violating his probation.
Carl Rittenhouse, 74, was arrested shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday at his home on Wilkinson Way in the Cherry Vale Villas in the Village of Tall Trees on a probation violation. He was booked without bond at the Sumter County Detention Center.
Rittenhouse gambled last year and took his case to a jury after he allegedly keyed a blue Hyundai Sonata at Bonefish Grill on Wedgewood Lane in The Villages. The deputy approached the Pennsylvania native and asked why he had keyed the woman’s car. Rittenhouse responded he was “mad at her.” It appeared Rittenhouse had been drinking and he failed field sobriety exercises. A receipt was found in his pocket, showing he had purchased three Tito’s Handmade Vodkas with ice earlier that evening. Rittenhouse claimed he was suffering chest pains and was transported by ambulance to The Villages Regional Hospital. He later signed himself out of the hospital. He provided breath samples that registered .148 and .144 blood alcohol content.
Rittenhouse has been previously convicted of drunk driving, twice in 2007 and once in 2011. In December 2014, he was cited for parking in a handicapped spot.
Rittenhouse’s on-again-off-again girlfriend, 77-year-old Janet Zahorian, escaped prosecution earlier last year on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. She had been charged with throwing a piece of glass furniture at him. The two had been arguing over money he reportedly owed her. Zahorian in 2014 and 2015 sought orders of protection against Rittenhouse.
In 2016, Rittenhouse was convicted of terrorizing his estranged lady friend, who was then battling cancer. He punched her and stole her hairpiece in one incident and in another attempt to intimidate Zahorian, stole her wig from her car while it was parked at the Waterfront Inn. Zahorian told deputies she had changed the locks on her home five times in 12 months and repeatedly changed the code on her garage.
Rittenhouse had been arrested in April 2014 on a charge of battery after an altercation with Zahorian in the Cherry Vale Villas. He was placed on one year’s probation, but Rittenhouse’s attorney was able to persuade the judge to terminate the probation early. It was terminated on Jan. 27, 2015.
