A Fruitland Park teen was arrested for allegedly attacking his father during an argument over truck ownership.
An officer responded to a battery involving 19-year-old Caiden Dean McPeters and his father at an undisclosed Leesburg residence at 7:10 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. The call began as a civil complaint over the use of a vehicle, but a verbal disturbance that escalated to an active battery could be heard in the background.
Upon arrival, the parties were separated as the verbal dispute continued. The father yelled at McPeters and his companion until he was interviewed outside the residence. He advised that the argument began when he went to retrieve his vehicle from McPeters’s house because “some crack head” was working on it, and he did not approve, the report said.
Someone at the residence then took the tag off the vehicle and threw it at him. McPeters showed up to retrieve the red truck, which he claimed was his, and the verbal argument started again. The father was punched by McPeters and his companion at that point, the report said.
McPeters and his companion indicated there was no physical altercation whatsoever, only verbal. They confirmed the argument was over who owned the truck, the report said
Moving on to witnesses, the first stated that McPeters was not permitted to use the truck. They confirmed the father’s account that the issues started in Fruitland Park and continued once they returned to their residence. The argument became heated, and McPeters and his companion each punched the father once in the face, causing blood to come from the corner of his mouth, the report said.
The second witness recounted seeing McPeters tackle his father to the ground before punching him several times. His companion then jumped in and punched him, too. The father’s position on the ground left him unable to fight back. She had to pull the two off the father, the report said.
After McPeters was placed into custody, his father and the two witnesses became uncooperative with the investigation and changed their statements. The father stated McPeters was not involved in the battery, only the companion. The first witness claimed she did not see who struck whom, but the father was hit. The second witness said McPeters only lay on top of the father and did not hit him, the report said.
All three of these statements were directly contradictory to each of their initial statements. They all agreed to provide sworn written statements at first, yet none were collected due to their uncooperative behavior, the reports aid.
The father ultimately sustained blood on his mouth. It appeared he may have suffered a busted lip, the report said.
McPeters was arrested on charge of simple battery (domestic) and booked at Lake County Jail. He was released after posting $500 bond.
He was also one of two people seriously injured in an ATV crash on Rolling Acres Road in 2019.