Beware of this guy
 

The below article is about a guy that frequients both town squares he usually has on a Boston Red Sox hat. He goes around and shakes hands like he owns the place.


www.dailycommercial.com/08-02-08-hendricks

Re: Beware of this guy
 

You should probably just link this due to copyright considerations.

There must be more to the story than what you see here??? He sounds like someone who unfortunately needs to be on some kind of medication as well as in the care of a competent psychiatrist and/or psychologist.

I wonder if he has been Baker acted ever? http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/mentalhea...ws/index.shtml http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_Act

This is from the link-- "The Baker Act allows for involuntary examination (what some call emergency or involuntary commitment). It can be initiated by judges, law enforcement officials, or mental health professionals. There must be evidence that the person a) has a mental illness (as defined in the Baker Act) and b) is a harm to self, harm to others, or self neglectful (as defined in the Baker Act). Examinations may last up to 72 hours and occur in 100+ Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF; originally Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, or HRS) designated receiving facilities statewide. Many things may occur after the examination."

Re: Beware of this guy
 

Thanks Indy Guy for bringing this article to our attention. Nothing wrong with being a little more careful.

Re: Beware of this guy
 

Thanks for the heads up Indy. :bigthumbsup:

Re: Beware of this guy
 

"Richard Gere", as everyone in The Villages refers to him, has been around for a year or so. He's very odd acting and will usually salute the entertainers on stage when he enters the room/area. (That has become his trademark.) Stops in at Katie Belles, Margarita Republic, Bourbon Street frequently. Saw him a week ago in Ocala trying on hats. Very strange man! Beware!

Skip

Re: Beware of this guy
 

Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't. :joke: http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.n...25690E0020EA98

Re: Beware of this guy
 

Tal, you're toooo funny! 1rnfl 1rnfl

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I had a serious run in with Richard Gere at KB's last year while there with friends seeing Rocky and Rollers.
He was bothering our group and wanting to dance with our wives. It was suggested very strongly by several of my buddies that he knock it off or he'd be getting more than he wanted. Funny that being confronted by several men he decided to leave.
Had a KB employee I know tell me Gere was banned later from KB's for slapping a female server in front of KB's,sadly she didn't press charges when police arrived.

Re: Beware of this guy
 

Are you sure thats not Gary ?????


curious fumar

Re: Beware of this guy
 

Fumar,
The question here is, Are YOU sure it's not Gary!! :o

Re: Beware of this guy
 

The poor man obviously needs help. Does anyone know if he has family or friends who can intervene and get him into a medical facility before he hurts himself or someone else. These are not the actions of a healthy person.

Re: Beware of this guy
 

Law enforcement can involuntary commit people under the FL Baker Act. My guess is though that this man is quite familiar with the FL mental health system and just knows how to walk the walk and talk the talk to get released. He has to pose a danger to himself or others and unless there is something else in his background other than was has been posted here as well as written in the local newspaper he probably does not meet the criteria for an extended stay at a mental health facility.

Under the Baker Act he can really only be held in a mental health facility for 72 hours + 5 days and then he has to go before a judge for a mental health evaluation. http://www.wearethehope.org/faq.htm#baker http://www.lakecountyclerk.org/faq.a...0Act%20someone

Re: Beware of this guy
 

He can't be all bad if he is wears a Red Sox Hat. He is just another frustrated member of the Red Sox Nation: dontknow:

Re: Beware of this guy
 

He sounds a little off but hopefully nothing like a 31 year old acquaintance I had back in Tampa Bay who snapped and winded up dead from a heart attack brought on by the scuffle with the police. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/...+man%27s+death

I used to see this man at the movie theater with his mother as well as at the library where I was a volunteer at the time and also ran into him donating blood.

Re: Beware of this guy
 

I agree with Nanci....I am not sure why the police just keep arresting him and then letting him go. There must be someone who can help him. That is very sad!

Re: Beware of this guy
 

Unless he is a danger to himself or others I think this man should have his freedom. We have our Mr. Midnight and other assorted characters as described in Leisureville here in TV and what this man is doing may be disruptive but we do still live in a country where the US Constitution and its protection of individual rights means something. http://nami.org/MSTemplate.cfm?MicrositeID=279

It kind of bothers me that places are banning him unless there is a lot more to the story than what I have seen.

Re: Beware of this guy
 

I forget who I was with (Kathie?) but definitely had a close encounter of the strangest kind with the man. He was a pain in the neck and definitely intrusive but seemed to be basically harmless.

It is hard to Baker Act (commit) someone. They truly have to be a danger to themselves or others, not just nuisances. The police's hands are pretty much tied in situations such as these. Until he proves to be a true danger, all they can do is arrest him.

Re: Beware of this guy
 

Growing up in a large city, I guess im desensitized to this type of behavior. People would walk down the street talking loudly to themselves and other very strange things. Once I saw a man carring a dead dog in his arms that was stiff as a board walking down the street. Another incident was a very beautiful woman walking down our street completely naked and dancing to a portable radio. Another neighbor would dress in skin tight leotards and dance by himself in the streets.
Seeing this man in the town square didnt even phase me in the least, not sure if this is a good thing or a bad one but I agree it certainly pays to be cautious.

Re: Beware of this guy
 

I agree that he should have his freedom...as long as he is not hurting himself or others...however I was just thinking there shold be someone out there to help him. It is very sad when people are all alone. However I suppose we don't know the whole story and it is possible that folks have tried to help in the past.
What is this Mr. Midnight reference? I need to find that posting...I will do a search....

Re: Beware of this guy
 

I think we saw this guy at Cane Garden about a year ago. He kept bothering the women until we suggested he leave. He left.

Re: Beware of this guy
 

A reference to the book "Leisureville".



Leisureville

Re: Beware of this guy
 

I think this is the same guy who made a move on someone in my neighborhood who had recently gone thru a divorce. He was quite the schmoozer, and, obvioulsy, very insincere in his proclamations of undying love for her. He introduced himself as Richard Gere and fits all the other descriptions here.

Re: Beware of this guy
 

Mr. Midnight is a real life character from Andrew Blechman's 2008 book Leisureville. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/bo...=1&oref=slogin

Leisureville is about retirement communities in the US but has the majority of its chapters on the Villages with a few on Arizona's Sun City for good measure.

"'Don’t you miss the real world?' he asks a former teacher named Mr. Midnight, whose main problem is having enough Viagra around to keep up with his social life. 'I don’t want the real world anymore,' he says. He just wants sex. 'Whatever happens now, you guys have to worry about it — it doesn’t affect me.' " From link.

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When you get 80 thousand people in an area the size of The Villages it's a miracle there are not more reports like this.

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Thankfully, this kind of stuff rarely makes the news unless some kind of crime is involved. Most people with mental illness of whatever type are completely harmless. It is only the one in 100,000 or maybe more who goes postal so to speak and gets in the local and/or national news. http://www.nami.org/

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http://www.dailycommercial.com/08-02-08-hendrick

Story sounds like the same guy

Re: Beware of this guy
 

You are right Tal. :agree:

Re: Beware of this guy
 

Sounds to me like this poor man either has bipolar disorder (not treated with medication) or schizophrenia, poorly treated. He is most likely harmless. We need to all count our blessings. Could be one of us. Poor soul.

A new topic just came up about this guy so I thought I would bring up the old one for people to see.

http://www.dailycommercial.com/local...y/032609banned

He's the gift that keeps on giving.

http://www.dailycommercial.com/local...y/032609banned

If, in fact
 

he did slap the KB employee, (which, if I understand it correctly, was in front of witnesses) doesn't that cross the line from simply being a pest to being potentially dangerous?

I doubt it.
 

Slapping a KB employee is probably not enough for a judge-- even a FL judge-- to toss this man into a mental health facility for more than the usual 72 hour + 5 day observation period.

Various places can ban him though. http://www.dailycommercial.com/local...y/032609banned

Saw him at Sumter Landing dancing on Friday night. I understand that he was in the county lock up for several months and is now out.

Beware

:shrug:Did he still have the Red Sox hat on? What makes you think he's "the guy?":shrug:

Yes he did have the Red Sox hat on. My wife has had several run-ins with this guy at her place of employment. Beleive me she knows who he is.

Private Property
 

If I understand it correctly the squares and the establishments around them are owned by the Morse family. Therefore private property. :police: If Lady Lake can ban him from city property then he can be banned from the squares as well. Someone who has a history with this guy should approach the powers at be in the Commercial retail group of the villages and get him banned.

As sorry for the guy as you may be, if as reported in the one news article linked in the other posts, he carries a knife, this is a real problem.

Just my opinion,