A Leesburg man is in the Lake County Jail for allegedly assaulting a man who wouldn’t lend him any more money.
Lake County sheriff’s deputies arrested Thomas Kitchen, 60, of 1105 Cypress St., on June 9 and charged him with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and criminal mischief. An arrest warrant had been issued for Kitchen after the incident, which happened the evening of May 25 at the victim’s residence on Fern Drive.
The victim told a deputy that Kitchen came to his house to borrow money, but he declined to lend it to him because Kitchen already owes him. He said the two men got into an argument and Kitchen grabbed a hammer and started striking the victim’s car windshield, causing about $2,000 worth of damage. The victim said as he tried to stop Kitchen from damaging the vehicle, he was struck in the left forearm and left hand with the hammer. The deputy observed the victim’s forearm and hand were bleeding and very swollen, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The victim said Kitchen also hit him in the stomach with the hammer and shoved him to the ground. Lake EMS was summoned to treat the victim’s injuries, but he refused transportation to the hospital, the report said.
Deputies searched the area for Kitchen but were unable to find him. Jail records show he has a handful of prior arrests dating back to 2019, including one in March of this year for battering an elderly person and one in March 2021 for domestic battery (one or more prior offense).
Kitchen is being held on $7,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on July 5.
