A Florida man was arrested and charged with two felonies last month for allegedly pulling a gun on some kids who were fishing in his neighborhood. The accused is also the president of the neighborhood’s Homeowners Association, according to FOX-35 News.
An arrest affidavit filed in Brevard County names Kyle Tate of Palm Bay as the individual who was arrested on April 14. According to that document, officers with the Palm Bay Police Department responded to a call from Stillwater Lakes Subdivision after three young anglers reported that Tate had “approached them with a firearm, telling them to get off his property.” They also accused Tate of taking their fishing rods, tackle boxes, and cast nets and throwing them into the nearby woods.
In addition to the fishing equipment that officers say Tate “willfully and maliciously damaged,” the victims claimed that he also took one of their cell phones and never gave it back. Officers estimated the total value of the damaged fishing equipment at $2,200, which combined with the value of the phone added up to approximately $3,700. This was well over the $750 benchmark for felony grand theft, and officers charged Tate accordingly. He faces an additional felony charge of criminal mischief for allegedly pulling a gun on the juvenile anglers.
Tate was taken into custody and booked in the Brevard County Jail. Court records show that he was later released after posting bond. Tate’s attorneys have entered a plea of not guilty, and he is currently awaiting trial.
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The three juvenile victims were aged 7, 10, and 15, according to FOX-35, and the mother of the 7- and 15-year-old told reporters that her kids have fished the lake before without any issues. The local police department also confirmed in the affidavit that the lake where the incident took place belongs to the subdivision and not Tate.
“A gun should’ve never been pulled on them,” the mother of the 10-year-old told the Orlando-based news outlet on Thursday. “It was startling. He’s still super shaken up, knowing that on a daily basis we have to drive by this subdivision where this man lives.”
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