A feud between neighbors in a Leesburg mobile home park escalated to the point where a man was jailed for stomping on another man’s cigarettes.
Charles Thomas Cunningham, 61, was arrested at his home Tuesday and charged with burglary with battery in connection with the incident, which happened July 17 near the entrance of the Shangri-La by the Lake mobile home park. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office received two calls reporting a disturbance in the roadway, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in Lake County Court.
The victim told a deputy he was having ongoing issues with Cunningham and was confronted by him while driving home from a court appearance they both attended. He said Cunningham approached him on his golf cart and pulled into his path, causing him to stop. The victim said Cunningham jumped off his cart, came over to his driver’s side window and started yelling and threatening to beat him, the affidavit said.
The victim said the window was down and that Cunningham reached through it to grab him by the collar while continuing to threaten him. At the time, the victim had cigarettes in his shirt pocket, and Cunningham grabbed them, threw them on the pavement and stomped on them. Both men continued to yell at each other until Cunningham got back on his golf cart and left, according to the affidavit.
Surveillance video of the incident confirmed the victim’s account. It showed Cunningham waiting for the victim at the entrance to the park and then pulling in front of him and yelling. The video showed Cunningham grabbing the pack of cigarettes, stomping on them twice, throwing them back into the vehicle, and driving away, the affidavit said.
Cunningham told the deputy he never touched the victim and stayed two feet away from him the entire time, which was clearly not what the video showed, according to the affidavit.
The New York native was arrested Tuesday and taken to the Lake County Jail, where he was released after posting $25,000 bond.