A document filed this past week in Lake County Court details an 82-year-old Villager’s anguish over his daughter and 8-year-old grandson.
Charles Newman is out of his home at 1813 W. Schwartz Blvd. on the Historic Side of The Villages, where his 41-year-old daughter continues to live with her son, a student at The Villages Charter School. Newman is free on bond and bound by a “no contact” order following his arrest last month after an alleged attack on his daughter.
In a document filed Tuesday in Lake County, Newman detailed his fears, frustration and anguish.
Newman said he was approached in June by a neighbor who said he recognized the signs and symptoms of methamphetamine use and feared Newman’s daughter was using meth.
“My immediate concern was and has always been for the health, safety and security of my daughter’s son, my grandson, who I have helped raise, care for, and have financially supported since his birth. My grandson is a minor child currently 8 years old,” he said.
There had been previous signs of drug use by his daughter.
Susan Newman was found to have a single marijuana cigarette tucked in an Altoid mint tin in her purse on Oct. 6, 2015 at Las Tapas restaurant at Brownwood Paddock Square. She underwent a substance abuse evaluation, completed recommended treatment and received early termination of her probation. She was living with her father at the time.
She had also been charged around that same time with the more serious offenses of possessing and selling methamphetamine and “maintaining a public nuisance.”
Susan Newman “did unlawfully keep or maintain a vehicle which is resorted to by persons for the unlawful purpose of using controlled substances, or which is used for keeping or selling illegal substances,” State Attorney Brad King wrote in a charging document.
Those charges were later dropped.
“I did not believe my daughter was on methamphetamine until June 2018, when my neighbors approached me about her activities. At that time, a lot of issues that had arisen over the last several years began to make sense as I realized that she was using drugs,” Charles Newman wrote this week.
He told her to move out, but offered to allow her son to continue to live with him.
Susan Newman began staying with friends, but in August asked her father to pay rent for her to stay in a room at a friend’s residence.
“She indicated that her son would not be allowed to live at the residence with her, but that I could bring him and his dirt bike to the residence to ride in the field behind the house. I understood that her son would continue to reside at my home with me as he has for many years,” he wrote.
He wrote a check for $400 to cover his daughter’s September rent, and when she later complained her rented room had no lock on the door, her father went to Lowe’s and purchased a door knob with a lock and gave it to his daughter, the court filing indicated.
The situation erupted on Sept. 13 when Susan Newman arrived at 1813 W. Schwartz Blvd. and found the door locked and became “angry and belligerent,” Charles Newman claimed. She angrily alleged her father was trying to prevent her from seeing her son. Charles Newman allegedly spit in her face “out of frustration,” according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department. He was arrested, jailed and remains free on bond, banned from his home.
She later wrote a letter protesting the fact her father no longer allowed her to use his automobile. You can read her letter at this link: Susan Newman Letter
“Because my daughter has continued to have use of the golf cart which provides her transportation to her place of employment and to/from her son’s school, her ability to earn a living and maintain eligibility for her son’s enrollment at The Villages Charter School should not be negatively impacted,” Newman wrote.
His daughter is now claiming his home is her legal residence. Charles Newman is fighting to evict her.
“For over a decade, I have provided financial assistance and support to my daughter. Since my grandson’s birth, I have provided financial support and custodial care for him. I have personally transported my grandson to and from school. I have cared for him when his mother works, when she goes out, when she sleeps and when she simply does not want to be around,” he wrote.
He added, “My grandson is and will always be welcome in my home.”
Newman also vowed that if the eviction case is decided in favor of his daughter, he will have no choice but to put his home up for sale.
