(THE VILLAGES, Fla.) — A man’s five minutes of fame at a Florida golf course is what allegedly helped officers arrest and charge him in connection with a deadly assault that took place in the course’s parking lot.
The Sumter County Sheriff’s arrested Robert Moore, 75, of the Villages, on July 27 and charged him with aggravated manslaughter on an elderly person in connection with the June 28 incident that took place at the Glenview Country Club, court documents say.
Dean Zook, 87, allegedly was heading to the club that day with his wife for dinner when his car bumped into another car parked in the lot, court documents said. A man came out asking what Zook did to his car and after Zook allegedly took responsibility and asked for insurance information, police said.
The other man allegedly punched Zook several times, according to court documents.
“The victim attempted to put his hands up to protect himself, but was unable to protect himself from the continuing punches,” court documents said.
The suspect later discovered that his car was not the one struck by Zook, but left the scene, court documents said.
Zook stumbled when police arrived on the scene and he was rushed to a hospital with bleeding in the brain, police said. He succumbed to his injuries on July 16, according to court documents.
Investigators interviewed several witnesses, looked at credit card records and reviewed surveillance footage to find the suspect, police said.
Detectives were able to allegedly match credit card purchases made at the club the day of the assault to Moore, court documents said.
They also received an anonymous tip that the suspect was named “Bob” and the tipster provided a photo from that day at another club where Moore allegedly wore the same clothes seen in surveillance footage of the incident, according to court documents.
Detectives used a Google image search on Moore and allegedly found an image of Moore from a Villages-News.com article on Nov. 8 in which he allegedly posed after making an ace at Tarpon Boil Executive Golf Course. Moore allegedly wore the same clothes that witnesses and surveillance footage captured the suspect wearing during the alleged assault, according to court documents.
On July 26, detectives went to Moore’s home to arrest him for the manslaughter incident, court documents said.
Moore allegedly told detectives that Zook tried to reverse out of the parking lot and allegedly Zook placed his hands on him, the court document alleged. Moore, who is 6-foot, 2-inches tall and approximately 210 pounds, alleged that he was defending himself against the victim, who was 5-feet, 8-inches tall and roughly 160 pounds, according to the court documents.
Attorney information for Moore was not immediately available. He was released on $30,000 bond on July 27, court documents said.
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