A Wildwood man was arrested for assault after allegedly chasing four kids to Family Dollar for a ding-dong-ditch “joke” at his door.
An officer responded to the Family Dollar parking lot, located at 400 N Main St., regarding an assault at 7:25 p.m. Tuesday, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. The parties, including 69-year-old Jorge Cruzado, were separated upon his arrival.
On the scene, the officer met with four juveniles who said a man had pointed a gun at them. They admitted they were playing “jokes” in the neighborhood, like knocking on random doors and running away. At one of the residences, a man started running at them and screaming that he was going to “beat” them, the report said.
The juveniles continued away from the area, but the man, identified as Cruzado, followed them in his pickup truck. The children got to their house and yelled for a parent to call 911 because they were being chased by someone, the report said.
After being read his rights, Cruzado stated the children continuously kept coming to his house, knocking on the doors and running away. His intentions were to scare the chldren and speak to the parents to prevent the issue from happening again. So, he followed the children and got out of his vehicle, the report said.
Cruzado then told them that they were going to get “beat” and lifted his shirt. This exposed his front waistband where he had a concealed carry holster. The holster was empty, and he stated no gun was in it during the incident, the report said.
Cruzado was subsequently arrested on four counts of aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony. He was transported to the Sumter County Detention Center with bond set at $4,000.