A Villager known as “Pickleball Billy” has been arrested after unwelcome visits to his neighbor’s villa.
William Leonard Hartig, 78, who has become well known as a USA Pickleball ambassador in The Villages, was arrested this past week on warrants charging him with two counts of trespassing.
The Massachusetts native was caught on surveillance on Oct. 17 and Nov. 27 crossing onto a neighbor’s property in the Hallandale Villas in the Village of St. Charles, according to arrest reports from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. Hartig had been formally banned by a trespass order in April from the property of the neighbor, a man in his 70s.
The arrest report indicated the man had put up little flags in his yard to show the exact location of the property line.
The information was sent to the state attorney’s office, which issued the warrants for Hartig’s arrest.
Hartig, who stands 5 feet and 1 inch tall and weighs 110 pounds, was picked up at his home March 5 at the Hallandale Villas. He remains free on $2,000 bond.