A member of a Homeowners Association at an Ormond Beach community was hauled off to jail, accused of firing off shots at some teenagers who were just trying to use the neighborhood pool.

The mothers of the boys are livid. One mother told FOX 35 that she’s just happy her son came home safe and alive.

“When my son said, 'We're not leaving,' actually turned away and the gun went off,” explained Darla Carlson.

She said she was mad that her son came home past curfew one night last week, until she learned he had almost been shot.

“You approached my son with a gun in your hand and you were ready for a fight. You were wrong to ever do that,” she said.

The showdown between Richard Marcelle, 66, and her 16-year-old son played out at the clubhouse pool inside The Village subdivision in Ormond Beach. Police said Carlson’s son and two other teens were at the pool around 9 p.m., when Marcelle, a member of the HOA board, tried to kick them out, saying the pool closed at 8 p.m.


The boys pointed out the sign that said it didn’t close until 10 p.m. According to the police report, Marcelle said the board voted to close the pool earlier but hadn’t changed the sign yet.

“The guy said that you are leaving and pulled out a gun.”

Police said Marcelle shot at the dirt, scaring off the kids, but not before they wrote down his license plate number.

“My son actually approached me and said he cannot get away with this,” Carlson said.

Worried her son and his friends may have started the trouble, officers told her surveillance video proved otherwise.

“They did the right thing and the footage tells it all. I cried to my mom and dad, going 'I raised him right!'”

Marcelle was charged and is now out on bond. When FOX 35 approached him Thursday afternoon, he did not want to talk.

Marcelle was charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and firing a gun.