Marion man arrested, accused of refusing to surrender weapons as required by court order
A 60-year-old man was arrested last week after sheriff's deputies said he defied a court order by refusing to hand over more than two dozen firearms that were in his possession.
William Paul Fote reportedly told deputies he did not take the court order, called a Risk Protection Order (RPO), seriously, and he was frustrated, according to the man's arrest report.
The case began on Feb. 6, when deputies were called to the 21100 block of Northwest 106th Court Road in Micanopy about shots fired in the community.
Court decisions: Prison in federal weapons case and probation for state explosives case
Lawsuit: Ocala student shot and injured at Forest H.S. in 2018 sues Marion County school district
Neighborhoods on edge: Three people injured between 9 and 10 p.m. in NW Ocala shootings
Fote provided unsubstantiated information to deputies
When deputies arrived, they spoke with Fote. According to an arrest report, he told them a child was under his shed. He also said juveniles sometimes sneak onto his property and steal from him.
Fote showed deputies pictures of what he believed to be minors in his attic. He alleged the children put markings in his trees. He said he had called the sheriff's office multiple times to report the incidents, but nothing had been done.
According to the report, deputies said they did not see any children in the pictures. Also, their records reflected no calls for service at Fote's location. And they did not see where a child could fit under his shed.
Deputies interviewed three neighbors. One said Fote has been firing shots outside for roughly six months. The neighbor said Fote has shown him pictures he claimed showed children on the property, but the neighbor said he didn't see any children in the pictures.
The other neighbors said Fote regularly fires shots into his own yard and they fear he may shoot someone. One neighbor said Fote pointed a rifle at another neighbor's home, thinking he saw a stranger in the trees, according to the report.
Judge's ruling: Weapons must be surrendered
Fote was taken into custody pursuant to the state's Baker Act, which allows short-term holding of a person who is a threat to himself or others. Deputies also sought an RPO, which Circuit Judge R. Gregg Jerald issued.
According to Florida statute 794.01, such orders are allowed when a person "poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to himself or herself or others by having a firearm or any ammunition in his or her custody or control or by purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm or any ammunition."
With the order in hand, a deputy went to Fote's home to seize any guns he might have. But Fote said he did not have any weapons, according to the arrest report.
The sheriff's office obtained a search warrant on Thursday, returned to Fote's residence, and found 25 firearms and multiple rounds of ammunition throughout the home. Most of the guns were handguns, deputies said.
Fote's refusal to comply with the RPO constituted a third-degree felony offense, according to the statute: "A person who has in his or her custody or control a firearm or any ammunition or who purchases, possesses, or receives a firearm or any ammunition (withknowledge that he or she is prohibited from doing so by an order issued under this section commits a felony of the third degree."
Fote was arrested and charged with 25 counts of violating the law and transported to the Marion County Jail for booking. Bail was set at $25,000.
Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118, austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Guns seized, troubled man arrested in Marion County, Florida
