Florida man arrested after using sprinklers to spray disabled children, deputies say

MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A 61-year-old man was arrested after he used a surveillance system to activate his sprinkler system to spray his disabled neighbors because he was mad about their bus stop location, according to a news release.

Deputies said they first responded to a home on Southwest 51st Circle in Ocala on April 30 in reference to a report that Antonio Roman was using the surveillance system and sprinklers to intentionally spray the family who lived next door.

The family told deputies that Roman had consistently activated his sprinklers twice a day since August 8, 2024, when two of the victims who have special needs were loaded and unloaded from their school bus.

Investigators said they conducted surveillance of Roman’s home and were able to confirm the sprinkler system was directly aimed at the school bus stop.

They also noted the system activated when the bus arrived and deactivated as soon as it left the area.

According to the release, the father started wearing “swimming attire” to shield his children from Roman’s sprinklers.

When deputies made contact with Roman over the phone, he told them he was “upset about the location of the bus stop and did not like that it utilized part of his driveway for the wheelchair ramp one of the victims needed.”

[BELOW: The Marion County Sheriff’s Office shared footage of the sprinklers turning on]

Roman then admitted using the surveillance cameras to track the arrival time of the bus and manually activating the sprinklers because he was upset the bus was on his side.

According to the release, deputies issued an arrest warrant for Roman, who has a secondary home outside of Florida. He turned himself in when he returned to Marion County and was taken into custody at his home before being taken to the Marion County jail.

Neighbor Leroy Harris said he has seen the bus get sprayed.

“It’s not like he is parking on your lawn. He is in the street. If he is blocking your driveway, he’s not there more than a few minutes at most and he’s gone. So I don’t see the reason for that,” Harris said.

Roman faces charges of stalking, battery on a disabled person and battery.

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