A frustrated non-English-speaking suspect has admitted to damaging the entrance gate to the Parkwood community in Oxford.
The head of the homeowner’s association at the community located near Buffalo Ridge Plaza in The Villages contacted law enforcement about the entrance gate which was damaged at about 9:30 p.m. Monday, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department.
Video surveillance showed an Asian male wearing a gray tank top and driving a silver van, get out of the vehicle and forcibly raise the gate arm. The surveillance captured the van’s license plate number which led to the vehicle’s owner, who was contacted by police. The vehicle’s owner agreed to meet with police at her home in Parkwood.
When police arrived at the residence, the vehicle’s owner was accompanied by 27-year-old Hailong Chen, who resides at the same home.
The vehicle’s owner told police that Chen only speaks Mandarin Chinese and does not speak English. When the woman began speaking to Chen in Mandarin, he began gesturing with his arms as if he was lifting something. He admitted he had forcibly raised the gate. Damage to the gate was estimated at $300.
Chen was arrested on a charge of criminal damage to property. He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center and released after posting $500 bond.
