[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 10/27/19]
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ALTOONA, Florida – An Altoona man threatened two adults and a 16-year-old boy with a knife and pulled his penis out of his shorts Wednesday, according to an arrest affidavit.
When Lake County Sheriff’s deputies arrived to the call at 19050 Thomas Avenue, Keith Emerson, 49, aggressively approached one of the deputies by, “throwing up his hands and explicitly yelling at him to get off his property,” the affidavit states. Emerson approached another deputy in the same manner and after ignoring several verbal commands to stop, the deputy deployed his taser. The first set of probes struck Emerson, but he continued to stand and not listen to the deputy’s commands. The deputy deployed his taser again, this time causing Emerson to fall and place his hands behind his back, according to the affidavit.
Deputies spoke with the 16-year-old victim, who said when he went outside to retrieve his dog from his fully-gated front yard, Emerson began yelling incoherent expletives at him. Two adults in the home came outside and approached the gate where Emerson was standing.
Emerson pulled a pocket knife out, opened it, leaned in over the gate as far as possible swung it at all three people – all while screaming he was going to kill them, the affidavit states. The three victims began to retreat and Emerson pulled his penis out and stated, “Come get some” and told the boy he was going to kill him and his family.
Deputies called emergency personnel to check the arrestee out after he was tased and he was extremely agitated and refused to cooperate. After he was medically cleared, he was taken to the Lake County Jail. On the ride to the jail, Emerson spit on the patrol car’s cage windows numerous times, the deputy noted in his report. Emerson was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, exposure of sexual organs and resisting an officer without violence. He is being held at the Lake County Jail on $52,000 bond.
A social media post about the incident on the Facebook Group Altoona, FL Word of mouth garnered 38 reactions and 85 comments at press time. None of the comments were in favor of Emerson.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. In addition, she has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
