Ormond Beach, FL - A member of a neighborhood's Home Owner's Association faces charges after firing a gun to get three victims away from a pool.
That's according to Ormond Beach police in regards to 66-year-old Richard Marcelle and what happened at a community pool in The Village subdivision.
Last week (April 23rd), police say a mother walked into the Ormond Beach Police Department to file an assault report.
The mother said that an unknown suspect, later identified as Marcelle, fired a handgun in a threatening manner at her son and two of his friends, one of which was a juvenile.
They said that they went to The Village's community pool to hang out when they were confronted by Marcelle.
It should be noted that the son is 18-years-old, and a resident of the subdivision, meaning he is allowed to be at the pool and accompany minors to the pool.
According to the narrative, while they were swimming at the pool, Marcelle approached the teens and demanded they leave the pool as the pool closed at sunset.
All three were in agreement to leave, as they believed they were violating the pool's rules.
But, as they began to leave, they noticed that the posted pool rules said that the pool actually closed at 10 p.m. After seeing that notice, they approached Marcelle at the front of the pool's club house to tell him that the pool was still open.
After telling Marcelle that the rules allowed them to say, he rebutted by saying the rules have changed.
The report shows that the HOA board for the neighborhood, which includes Marcelle, voted to change the pool hours a few days prior to the incident.
But, the posted rules had not changed, meaning residents were not properly informed.
A small argument then ensued between the victims and Marcelle. Following the argument, the victims decided to ignore his demands to leave and walked backed to the area, believing the rules were correct.
Marcelle then intercepted the group as they attempted to re-enter the pool area, displaying a small black revolver style handgun. He then fired the gun into the soil off to the side.
One of them asked "did you really just shoot a gun," to which Marcelle replied "yes, I am putting my own life at risk," according to the report.
The victims then began to leave as Marcelle followed them to their vehicle. They ended up leaving the area after copying Marcelle's tag number off of his vehicle.
A couple of days later (April 25th), Ormond Beach police went to the clubhouse to review the security footage of the incident.
In the video, police saw the victims arrive at the pool around 9 p.m. While there, the victims gathered outdoor chairs and then began to socialize.
Several minutes later, Marcelle arrives at the clubhouse in a truck with no vehicle lights on, in what appeared to be an attempt to not be noticed, according to police.
The video then showed Marcelle approaching the victims and conversing with them.
After conversing, Marcelle walked back to his vehicle while the victims appeared to linger around the pool area for a few more minutes. They then appeared to take notice of the posted rules.
Marcelle was also observed leaving his truck, with a small black revolver cupped in his left hand.
That's when the victims were confronted by Marcelle again, who was seen on video maintaining an aggressive stance while standing in front of the victims.
During the confrontation, it seemed that the victims were unaware of Marcelle being armed.
While watching the interaction, police noticed that the victims made no aggressive or violent advancements, postures or gestures towards Marcelle.
Later that day, an OBPD detective tried making contact with Marcelle at his home in the neighborhood, but he didn't answer the door.
Marcelle ended up calling the detective later in the day, saying that he's acquired an attorney and he will not speak with police.
A few days later, police met with the victims to run a photo lineup. And out of six photos, all three victims identified Marcelle.
Marcelle was booked into the Volusia County Jail yesterday (May 1st), charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm in public.
Jail records show that Marcelle has posted $35,000 bond and is no longer in custody.
