A 70-year-old Florida man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly assaulting two kids who were fishing a neighborhood pond. Daniel Lukas, of Naples, was booked Wednesday in the Collier County Jail and charged with one count of battery, a misdemeanor. He has since been released on bond.
Authorities allege that Lukas yelled at the two kids, aged 12 and 14, for fishing a community pond behind his house. Lukas chased them down the street to a neighboring driveway, where he allegedly pushed the 12-year-old, Aiden Minkov, and grabbed him by the back of his neck. Aiden’s father, Max Minkov, says he saw a video of the alleged assault that the 14-year-old, Alexis Disabato, recorded on her cell phone.
“As a parent, watching a video [of] your son getting assaulted for fishing is, it’s pretty heartbreaking,” Max told WINK News. “He’s a big kid and everything, but he’s still a child. I mean, he’s 12 years old … that’s just, you don’t do that.”
According to an arrest report filed by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, the arresting officer responded to the battery call inside the Riverstone Preserve neighborhood around 6:45 p.m. on Aug. 20. The report notes that all three parties, including the kids, are residents of the same Naples community, which is built around a series of small lakes.
Aiden told the officer that he and Disabato were fishing the pond located behind Lukas’ house on Saginaw Bay Dr., when Lukas yelled at them to “get off his property.” Aiden said they were grabbing their poles to leave when Lukas approached them.
“[Minkov] and [Disabato] began to walk away heading northbound along the lake and exited into the street located at 3407 Pacific Drive,” the report reads. “[Disabato] walked towards the left and [Minkov] was walking to the driveway when [Lukas] grabbed [Minkov] by the back of his neck with both hands and [started] pushing him.”
At that point, according to the report, Disabato pulled out her cell phone to film. While she was videoing, Lukas’ wife approached and told her to stop. She then grabbed Disabato’s phone and threw it onto the ground.
The CCSO says that after hearing Lukas’ side of the story, he was deemed the “primary aggressor” and placed under arrest. Minkov’s parents had arrived by that point, and his mother told the officer they would press charges against the man.
“They’re supposed to be a neighbor. It’s not very neighborly,” Carolyn Minkov told reporters.
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Aiden told the local news outlet he has fished other ponds in his neighborhood before, and that a friend had tipped him off about that particular pond. The small waterbody is surrounded by homes, including Lukas’, but it is owned and managed by the Riverstone Homeowners Association, according to both onX and the HOA.
The HOA’s rules and regulations dictate that all neighborhood residents, along with their guests, are permitted to “engage in catch and release fishing in the lakes.” Owners who do not have lakefront lots, however, can only access the lakes through an easement of some kind.
It’s unclear if the lake behind Lukas’ residence has such an easement, or if the two young anglers broke HOA rules while accessing or fishing it. When Outdoor Life contacted the HOA property manager for clarification, the manager said “no comment” and hung up the phone.
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