A 65-year-old man has been sentenced to 12 months probation and ordered to undergo anger management training as the result of an altercation over seat-saving this past September at Spanish Springs Town Square.
Gary Lee Herzhaft a Water Oak resident is accused of pushing a 77-year-old Villager who dared to sit in a seat “saved” by Herzhaft at Spanish Springs Town Square.
When the Villager attempted to sit in one of the “saved” seats, Herzhaft informed the Villager that the chair was “taken.” When the Villager ignored him, Herzhaft “jumped up and pushed (the man) back and jammed his fingers into the upper chest area,” of the Villager, according to an incident report from the Lady Lake Police Department.
Herzhaft told police that the “chairs were taken,” but denied pushing or poking The Villager. He was issued a notice to appear in Lake County Court to answer to a charge of misdemeanor battery.
This past month, Herzhaft entered a plea of no contest to the charge.
In addition to a year’s probation, the judge ordered Herzhaft to take 12 hours of anger management training. He was also ordered to perform 25 hours of community service.
In a separate seat-saving incident last year, a 70-year-old Village of Santo Domingo man paid a nearly $300 fine in Lake County Court after pleading no contest to charges of disorderly conduct and resisting a police officer.
A popular Villages line dance instructor was able to avoid prosecution last year after she admitted to punching a woman who had invaded her space on the dance floor at Spanish Springs Town Square. She was ordered to undergo anger management training. You can read about her case HERE
