[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 03/11/20]
LEESBURG, Florida — A man who was fighting with his girlfriend in a fenced-in backyard, is facing a domestic battery charge and threats to a public official after allegedly telling a deputy he was going to kill him.
LCSO deputies responded to 10722 Westmont Road in the Bassville Park area of Leesburg Tuesday afternoon after a witness called about a male and female fighting. The arresting deputy looked through a fence when he arrived at the home and saw Charles William Rager, 25, pushing Chelsea Lyman, 26, inside of a shed while Lyman yelled at him to stop. The arresting deputy entered the property and took Rager into custody.
The deputy walked Rager to the patrol car and Lyman followed, yelling, “I just want him to leave, I am not pressing charges,” Rager’s arrest affidavit states. The deputy explained several times to Lyman that he saw Rager pushing her and asked her is she was going to write a statement. Lyman continued to yell and was finally taken into custody after repeated attempts to pull away, the affidavit states.
The pair was taken to the Lake County Jail by different deputies. While Rager was being transported, he allegedly stated several times, “I am going to get you [expletive].” When the deputy asked what he meant, Rager replied, “I am going to kill you, you fat [expletive]. Rager, who is currently out on bond for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, tampering with evidence and driving while license suspended, was charged Tuesday with domestic battery and threats to a public official. He is being held in the Lake County Jail on $11,000 bond. Lyman was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting an officer without violence. She was released from the Lake County Jail on $2,000 bond.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. She has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
