A Leesburg man was arrested on assault and battery charges after threatening to shoot a woman and her children while at a swimming pool.
An officer responded to an aggravated assault and battery, later found to involved 25-year-old Tavian Darnell Shorts, at an undisclosed Lady Lake residence around 4 p.m. Saturday, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department.
The officer met with the victim and immediately noticed an injury to her right eye above her right cheek. Her upper cheekbone was swollen, causing the right eye to be almost completely shut. Bruising was also present on the top of her cheekbone below the eye, the report said.
The victim explained that she, her children, her sister and Shorts had been swimming in the pool together. At about 4:10 p.m., Shorts became upset, hit the victim about three times with a closed fist and a broom, brandished a firearm and threatened the kill the victim and her children, the report said.
“He pulled out a gun, said he would kill me. He said he didn’t care if he died. He hit me about three times. About 4:10 p.m. is when it started. He hit me with his fist and broom. He pointed the gun at me, then everywhere and said he would kill all the kids. I was scared for my life,” said the victim in the report.
The victim had two sisters, one of which left with Shorts prior to law enforcement’s arrival. Her other sister remained at the scene. The sister at the scene informed the officer that she had her siblings’ locations on the Find My Friends app on her iPhone. The location of her sister and Shorts was shown as 36441 West Drive in Fruitland Park, the report said.
Officers and Lake County deputies arrived at that location and found Shorts walking in the road. He was then detained and placed under arrest. A search of Shorts’ pockets revealed two white electronic cigarettes. A small backpack found under the carport at the address was found to contain a loaded .45-caliber handgun and a white electronic cigarette identical to the one found in Shorts’ pocket, the report said.
While on the way to jail following the officer reading his rights, Shorts admitted ownership of the gun found at the scene, the report said.
Shorts was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and battery. He was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $11,000.