LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Cellphone video obtained by Channel 9 shows part of a confrontation involving a Lake County homeowners association vice president accused of chasing door-to-door solicitors and ramming their company van.
Gerald Tucker, 71, faces five counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to a Lake County Sheriff’s Office probable cause affidavit.
The confrontation happened June 29 inside the gated Plantation at Leesburg community, where signs prohibit soliciting.
Investigators said employees of an unnamed home improvement company were offering free estimates to residents while working on another project in the neighborhood.
One of the first homes they visited belonged to Tucker, who told a deputy he was the HOA’s vice president. Tucker became upset about their presence, told them to leave and threatened to call law enforcement, according to the affidavit.
The employee left and called coworkers to pick him up. Investigators said Tucker then followed the employee in his Ford F-150 at speeds of 20 to 30 mph.
The employee entered a company van with four coworkers inside, but Tucker allegedly continued following them through the neighborhood.
One occupant told deputies Tucker reached an estimated 65 mph at one point. The five workers said Tucker repeatedly blocked their path as they attempted to leave.
The group eventually entered a cul-de-sac, where Tucker allegedly positioned his truck diagonally across the road. When the van’s driver attempted to go around the pickup, witnesses said Tucker accelerated into the van and forced it onto a curb and into a yard.
One person told investigators that the impact caused the van’s door to collapse against his arm. The sheriff’s office said no injuries were reported.
A deputy said cellphone video of the confrontation was consistent with the workers’ accounts. All five submitted sworn statements indicating they wanted Tucker prosecuted.
Tucker acknowledged following the van and positioning his truck in the road because soliciting was not allowed in the neighborhood, according to the affidavit.
Tucker was arrested July 17 and later released on bond.
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