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A DeLand resident arrived home from work around 10:15 a.m. May 19 and saw two dogs that were loose in the roadway between his house and the house where the dogs live.
He would later tell police officers “he is afraid of the dogs because they are aggressive and have charged him in the past.”
The worried neighbor parked his vehicle at his home and got out, carrying a can of “dog mace” (which he had in his car because of his concern about the dogs).
His across-the-street neighbor, a man in his early 60s who owns the two dogs, came toward Concerned Neighbor carrying a 4-footlong bamboo cane.
Cane-Wielding Neighbor struck some cardboard boxes that were sitting on the curb and, according to Concerned Neighbor, then swung the cane and struck Concerned Neighbor on the neck.
Concerned Neighbor sprayed his dog mace toward Cane-Wielding Neighbor, who “swung the stick at [Concerned Neighbor] several more times attempting to strike [Concerned Neighbor] who kept backing away avoiding the stick.” Finally, Cane-Wielding Neighbor went home.
When police officers arrived, Cane-Wielding Neighbor said Concerned Neighbor had been “antagonizing his dogs stating ‘You want some of me, come here.’” He said he approached Concerned Neighbor with a cane because the latter seemed to be about to spray the dogs with mace.
Cane-Wielding Neighbor said he swung his cane “to protect his dogs,” but that the cane never struck Concerned Neighbor.
Cane-Wielding Neighbor was arrested on a felony charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and taken to jail. Too bad he didn’t just keep his dogs at home.
— By Keith Allen, based on local police-agency reports. If you have information about a crime, call CrimeStoppers, 1-888-277-TIPS. You could be eligible for a reward.
