[PHOTO CREDIT: Facebook / Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 09/12/20]
MOUNT DORA, Florida — A teenager was arrested for aggravated assault with a motor vehicle earlier this month after video evidence showed he sped towards a 7-year-old girl and threatened to hit her in August, according to an arrest affidavit.
The 17-year-old boy is accused of driving a blue Ford F150 towards the young girl while she was riding her bicycle in unincorporated Mount Dora on Aug. 3 and yelling, “Get out of the way or I will hit you,” the affidavit states. The girl’s mother provided video to a Lake County Sheriff’s Office detective that showed the incident and “it was obvious that the juvenile victim was in fear that the vehicle was going to hit her and that the vehicle accelerated towards her,” the detective noted in the affidavit.
Lake Legal News only identifies juvenile suspects accused of very serious crimes.
LCSO obtained still photographs of the truck that contained a partial image of the driver and the license plate number. After searching social media for the registered owner, the detective found an account that included a photo of the suspect. He was identified by a school resource officer at Mount Dora High School, according to the affidavit.
The detective went to the boy’s home on Grant Avenue in Mount Dora and saw the truck used in the assault in the front yard and the suspect came out to the porch, according to the affidavit. The detective attempted to get the teenager’s father’s information and the teen became hostile and was taken into custody. He is alleged to have admitted driving towards the girl but said he did not threaten to hit her. He was processed and released.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. 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]
