LONGWOOD, Fla. — A Longwood man is out of jail on bond after being arrested for firing shots to scare away some kids on ATVs.
Longwood Police say they had been getting complaints from the subdivision of Bay Meadow Farms regarding kids on ATVs, but in this case, they don’t think the kids were doing anything wrong when the shots were fired on Saturday morning.
Longwood Police look for evidence after getting a call from parents, saying someone shot towards their two kids, who were on ATVs near Bay Meadow Farms. Neighbor Ernest McDuffie says, “That’s a shock.” He says it’s usually a quiet neighborhood.
In the report, a resident told police he saw his neighbor shooting into the air to scare off several juvenile males wearing ski masks, saying they’ve been causing trouble. Neighbor Nate Rohe says a relative has seen the kids fishing, “He said there’s kids on a four-wheeler and I’ve heard other people say they come in and out.”
Police arrested 36-year-old resident David Mertle. According to the report, the 2 kids told investigators that Mertle fired at the ground and then towards their general direction as he yelled at them to leave. A neighbor told police that Mertle was wearing medical scrubs when he fired a gun into the air to scare them off.
We tried talking to Mertle, but he didn’t want to comment. But according to the report, Mertle told investigators he saw two kids wearing ski masks by the pond. Rohe says he knows Mertle, “Ya nice guy. Ya. I’m not sure what happened.”
Investigators say Mertle had a previous domestic violence case and had to surrender his two pistols. But the case wasn’t filed, and the suspect received his guns back. Rohe says the kids involved don’t live in the subdivision. “I think they live on the other side outside of our neighborhood. There are open areas where they come in and out.” According to police, Mertle told them he had some drinks beforehand because of a stressful day involving his own kids.
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