A 60-year-old Florida man is facing charges after police say he threatened a teenager with a meat cleaver and kitchen knife because he was upset about the noise of kids working on a go-kart in their garage.
Background
Richard Carter lives across the street from a home in Clermont, an Orlando suburb where the incident unfolded. The teen victim told investigators he was visiting his friend and helping rev the engine of a go-kart inside the friend's garage around 8 p.m. on June 8 when the situation escalated.
Deputies with the Lake County Sheriff's Office responded to the subdivision after receiving calls about a dispute involving a knife. The victims told investigators that Carter approached them angry, beginning by "cussing us out" over the noise of the engine work.
"I didn't do anything," Carter later told deputies in body camera footage obtained by local ABC affiliate WFTV.
The Investigation
According to arrest reports, Carter threw a lawn chair across the driveway and demanded the visiting teen "get the f— out of his neighborhood." When the victims attempted to calm him down, Carter went inside his home and returned with a meat cleaver and large kitchen knife, authorities said.
Deputies say Carter approached one of the victims with the meat cleaver, telling the teen he would "bash your head in" while again ordering him to leave. Fearing for his life, the teen held up his hands and fled on a four-wheeler to his home outside the subdivision.
"I didn't do anything," Carter later told deputies when confronted about the incident. A deputy responded: "Well, Richard, you just said that you went and picked up the first thing you could get out of your anger when you confronted them and it was a knife."
The teen's mother told investigators he returned home so shaken he could "barely speak" while describing what happened. They called 911 and returned to the scene to provide statements.
"They were the first thing I could grab because I was mad," Carter admitted on body camera footage, according to WFTV. Deputies noted in their report that Carter could have simply called the sheriff's office to file a noise complaint rather than confronting the boys himself.
The Charges
Carter is facing two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail, where he has since bonded out.
Key Takeaways
- Richard Carter, 60, has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
- The incident occurred in Clermont, an Orlando suburb, on June 8 around 8 p.m.
- Police say Carter threatened teens working on a go-kart engine with a meat cleaver and kitchen knife
- Body camera footage shows Carter admitting he grabbed the knives because he was "mad" about the noise
- The teen fled on a four-wheeler to his home outside the subdivision, where he was too shaken to speak
What's Next
Carter is out of custody after posting bond. His next scheduled court date is set for July 6 in Lake County. The investigation remains under review by the Lake County Sheriff's Office.