An accused groper free on bond after alleged unwanted affection toward a Beef O’Brady’s server has been jailed after frightening an employee at a local ice cream shop.
Larry William Rerick, 65, Fruitland Park, has been jailed without bond following his arrest Thursday night in an incident which began at the Sweet Lickz ice cream shop in Bushnell. The employee ran to the nearby I-75 Liquor store for help after an interaction with Rerick, who had been arrested last month after rubbing his hand on the thigh of a 17-year-old Beef O’Brady’s server.
The liquor store employee tried to snap a photo of Rerick, who had climbed behind the wheel of a beige Chevy Malibu, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. Rerick used the vehicle to strike the legs of the liquor store employee.
A bystander noticed the commotion and used his vehicle to block in Rerick’s car until law enforcement could be summoned to the scene. The bystander got out and stood in front of Rerick’s vehicle. Rerick used his vehicle to strike the intervener and then fled the scene. He was pulled over at the nearby Pleasant Hill Baptist Church.
It appeared Rerick had been drinking. He struggled through field sobriety exercises and provided breath samples that registered .061 and .058 blood alcohol content.
He was arrested on two counts of aggravated battery and a charge of driving under the influence. Due to the previous arrest, he was being held without bond at the Sumter County Detention Center.
