An ex-husband has admitted slapping a tracker on his former wife’s BMW at a pickleball court in The Villages.
Richard Rollins, 72, of Green Key Village in Lady Lake, admitted to the wrongdoing in a bid to escape prosecution on a charge of unlawful use of a tracking device. He has been allowed to enter into a pre-trial intervention contract and if he successfully completes the terms of the contract, the charge will be dismissed. The contract calls for him to complete 50 hours of community service, but he can “buy out” of the service at a rate of $10 per hour. He must also stay away from his ex-wife.
She arrived at about 7:45 a.m. Sept 14 at the pickleball courts at Lake Miona Recreation Center and noticed Rollins’ vehicle was parked there, according to a probable cause affidavit from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. She thought it was strange to see his vehicle at the recreation center. She suspected he was following her, as he had also been caught on surveillance at her home in The Villages.
Rollins’ estranged wife left the pickleball courts at about 9:30 a.m. and received an alert on her phone that an HTAG GPS tracker had been detected in her vicinity. She continued to receive alerts on her phone. When she returned home, she contacted the sheriff’s office. A deputy found the tracking device securely affixed to the underside of the BMW.
A mutual friend of Rollins and his estranged wife said that Rollins mentioned the tracker device in a text message.
A warrant was issued for his arrest and the native New Yorker turned himself in on Oct. 29.
His wife filed for divorce this past August. The divorce was finalized in January.