[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 02/10/21]
FRUITLAND PARK, Florida — A man who has been booked into the Lake County Jail 17 times since 2012 was arrested again Monday after allegedly yelling religious chants at a pair of brothers while pacing around them with a machete.
Shortly before 3:30 p.m. Monday, Fruitland Park Police responded to Finch’s U Store-It, 2281 U.S. Highway 27-441, Fruitland Park and found Preston Wade Greenlee, 50, walking around his truck, talking to himself, according to an arrest affidavit. An FPPD officer patted Greenlee down and did not find any weapons on Greenlee’s person, but when asked if he had a machete; Greenlee told the officer it was in his storage unit. The weapon was secured in the officer’s patrol vehicle and police spoke with the victims.
The brothers told police they were moving things in their storage unit when Greenlee began yelling religious chants and slurs at them. The chants escalated and Greenlee began screaming and walking toward them with a machete behind his back, the affidavit states.
The brothers called 9-1-1 and barricaded themselves behind a mattress in their storage unit while awaiting the arrival of law enforcement, according to the affidavit. Greenlee was arrested for two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and taken to LCJ, where he is being held on $4,000 bond.
_______________________________
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]
