LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – The vice president of an HOA in Leesburg was taken into custody last week after he was accused of ramming into a van with his F-150 truck, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
In an affidavit, deputies said the incident happened on June 29, when a home improvement company manager dropped off a canvasser in a local neighborhood. The canvasser reportedly knocked on the door of a nearby home to offer an estimate.
“The gentleman who answered the door was not happy about them being there and told them to leave,” the affidavit reads. “(The) canvasser is trained to not argue and walk away so (the manager) could go pick them up and they can leave with no more problems.”
However, as the manager came to retrieve the canvasser, he spotted the homeowner chasing the canvasser down the street in his truck, deputies explained.
The homeowner — later identified as Gerald Tucker, 71, the HOA’s vice president — followed the canvassers’ vehicle through the neighborhood, apparently trying to block the vehicle in at a couple of points, investigators explained.
According to witnesses, the incident ended with Tucker driving his truck into the canvassers’ vehicle, which had five people inside at the time.
“When (the) boss hopped out to confront (Tucker), the man said he didn’t hit them, even though he obviously ran into them and damaged his truck,” the affidavit continues.
Meanwhile, Tucker told deputies that the group of canvassers wasn’t supposed to solicit there, and he had chased the vehicle down to talk to the driver. Following an investigation, Tucker was arrested on July 17.
Now, Tucker faces five counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He was released the next day on bond of $10,000.