A crew was laying cables near his lawn. Then he became ‘irate,’ Florida cops say
A Southwest Florida man was arrested Thursday night after a case of lawn rage, authorities say.
According to the charging document, a deputy from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a disturbance call at a Fort Myers home around 9 p.m.
A deputy observed a 62-year-old homeowner pacing in his driveway, appearing “visibly irate” and cursing.
“These mother [bleep] better not ruin my [bleeping] grass!” screamed the man, the police report said. “They will see what happens.”
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The deputy then made contact with two people across the street who had triggered the suspect’s ire.
Those workers said they had been contracted to lay fiber optic cables in the area and were attempting to leave for the night when the suspect “aggressively” approached their truck with a gun.
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The deputy then went back to the suspect, attempting to calm him down, but he continued his cuss-laden rant.
“I will shoot those mother [bleepers]. That’s how I will handle it,” the suspect said, according to the report.
After obtaining a search warrant, the deputy searched the house. Inside the garage, “in plain view on a shelf,” was a gun that matched the victims’ description. The black and silver Smith & Wesson 9 Tactical pistol was loaded with a magazine that contained nine rounds of 9mm ammunition.
Based on the nature of the reported offense, the homeowner was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.
He was released on $5,000 bond. Acourt date has been set for Oct. 9.
