A Florida man accused of flinging dog feces at his neighbor and threatening him with a child’s scooter has been released on bond.
Trey Decloedt, 35, was arrested by Lake County sheriff’s deputies on Aug. 8 following the revolting confrontation at a Leesburg home the previous day, according to the arrest affidavit. He posted $16,000 bond on Aug. 9 and was released from custody.
The neighboring couple told deputies they had been locked in an ongoing dispute with Decloedt over dog feces being left around their properties. The husband claimed Decloedt entered his home without permission while angry and clutching dog feces before throwing the waste and striking him with it.
The homeowner then pushed Decloedt back outside, where the two men got into a fight and Decloedt allegedly punched him in the face, according to the affidavit account. The confrontation escalated further when Decloedt allegedly grabbed a child’s metal scooter, hoisted it over his head in a “menacing posture” and threatened the neighbor.
Responding deputies observed a red mark on the neighbor’s forehead as well as animal feces outside the home, according to the affidavit. Decloedt told deputies he had already complained to the neighbor’s wife about the mess and that she promised to clean it up — but four hours later, it was still there, according to bodycam footage obtained by WKMG-TV.
He claimed the neighbor later messaged him to come over and discuss the poop problem, then “shoved him in the doorway” before the two men fought in the driveway.
When deputies asked to enter Decloedt’s home to photograph injuries he said he suffered in the scuffle, he allegedly refused — and then declined orders to come outside. Deputies eventually placed him in handcuffs and brought him in for questioning, where, after being read his rights, he agreed to talk and stuck to his story.
Decloedt also told deputies that the two neighbors had previously had an understanding that allowed them to enter each other’s homes without knocking. The neighbor, however, provided deputies with a recording that reportedly showed he had previously told Decloedt he was no longer welcome on the property or inside the house because of the feces dispute.
Decloedt was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery, simple battery and burglary. The charges stem from what authorities described as a prolonged neighborly feud over unscooped pet waste that spiraled into physical violence.
In the viral moment that preceded the arrest, Decloedt allegedly barged into his neighbor’s home carrying dog feces from their ongoing dispute over unscooped pet waste around their Leesburg properties. He then hurled the feces at the homeowner, striking him, before the confrontation spilled outside into a fistfight where Decloedt allegedly punched the neighbor in the face and later grabbed a child’s metal scooter to threaten him in a menacing posture, according to the arrest affidavit and bodycam footage.
Decloedt’s next court date is in Leesburg.