Florida HOA president pulls gun on kids fishing on property: affidavit
PALM BAY, Fla. - A Florida man was taken to jail last month for allegedly approaching three kids with a gun for fishing at a subdivision where he is the president of the Homeowners Association (HOA), FOX 35 has learned.
Kyle Tate, 56, of Palm Bay, was arrested on felony charges of criminal mischief and grand theft, according to an affidavit.
On April 14, Palm Bay police officers responded to the Stillwater Lakes subdivision after the children reported that a man – later identified as Tate – approached them with a gun, telling them to get off his property.
Kyle Tate (Photo via Brevard County Sheriffs Office)
Officers said the children were fishing on the south side of the subdivision's lake, which belongs to the HOA and not Tate.
FOX 35 was able to confirm that Tate is the president of the HOA.
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Tate then took their fishing reels and rods, tackle boxes containing fishing lures, and cast nets and threw them in the woods, "maliciously" damaging their fishing equipment, officials said. He then allegedly took one of the kids' phones, which could not be found. The kids' items and the missing phone were valued at approximately $3,700.
The kids were ages 7, 10, and 15. The mother of the 7- and 15-year-olds says her kids have gone fishing there before without any issues. The kids don't live in the private subdivision.
"A gun should've never been pulled on them," said the mother of the 10-year-old child, who asked not to be named in this article. "It was startling. He's still super shaken up, knowing that on a daily basis we have to drive by this subdivision where this man lives."
Tate was arrested and booked into the Brevard County jail. He was later released after posting bond.