LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — A Clermont man is accused of threatening two teenagers with a meat cleaver and a “chef-style” knife after becoming frustrated by the sound of their go-kart, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies arrested 60-year-old Richard Carter after responding to reports that he confronted two teens who were working on a go-kart in a neighborhood garage.
According to an arrest report, the teenagers were reviving the engine while turning the carburetor when they heard a neighbor “cussing [them] out.” They told deputies Carter became angry, threw a lawn chair across a driveway, and yelled at them to “get the **** out of this neighborhood.”
The teens said they attempted to calm Carter down, but he remained irate.
Investigators say the confrontation escalated when Carter grabbed two large knives, described by deputies as a large chef-style knife and a large meat cleaver.
Body camera video obtained by Channel 9 captures Carter acknowledging that he grabbed the weapons.
“I grabbed the first thing I grabbed. G** d***, that wasn’t nothing,” Carter told deputies.
Moments later, Carter admitted he considered grabbing a wrench.
Deputy: “Why?”
Carter: “I don’t know, I’m mad.”
According to the arrest report, one teen told deputies Carter held the meat cleaver near their heads and threatened to “bash his head in” if they started the go-kart again.
One of the teens reportedly dropped to his knees and begged Carter not to hurt them, while the other raised his hands and backed away.
When deputies questioned Carter about the incident again, he denied wrongdoing.
“I didn’t do anything,” Carter said. “Well, Richard, you just said that you went and picked up the first thing you could get out of your anger when you confronted them and it was a knife, Richard,” the deputy responded.
Deputies told Carter he should have contacted law enforcement instead of confronting the teens with weapons.
“Listen, I get the nuisance and it can be irritating, but Richard, call us,” a deputy said on body camera footage. “Don’t let your anger get the best of you because now look at you.”
The 60-year-old now faces two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
He bailed out earlier this week but is expected to be back in court July 6 for arraignment.
Court records show Carter was charged in 2021 for pulling a gun on a driver, but prosecutors dropped the charges after he completed a pre-trial diversion program.
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