Mangos Weaponized: Florida Man Launches Fruit Assault on Neighbor
How can couple of mangos get you thrown in jail and slapped with a hate crime? Just ask the Florida man. He’s 61-year-old Charles Oliver Lovekin. This guy found himself in some big trouble after he allegedly weaponized some fruit during a run-in with his neighbor. The thing is, this wasn’t just any neighborly spat. This one got pretty wild with mangos and rocks flying around, all because Lovekin thought his neighbor was gay.
According to WPLG, Lovekin has this mango tree at his place in North Lauderdale, when one fine Sunday, a mango decided to take a nosedive onto his neighbor’s patio. Now falling fruit usually isn’t a big deal, but apparently one of these mangos made quite a commotion. Naturally, the neighbor came over to ask about it. But instead of a friendly chat, things got heated fast.
Mangos were Launched:
Lovekin allegedly started hurling insults, calling the guy all sorts of names and accusing him of being gay. Then, things got physical. Lovekin grabbed not one, but two mangos and chucked them at his neighbor. One missed, but the other hit him right in the chest. Lovekin didn’t stop there either, because he then grabbed a rock and tossed it too, but luckily, the neighbor dodged it.
When the deputies showed up, Lovekin didn’t hold back. He straight up told them he threw the mangos because he thought the neighbor was gay and felt uncomfortable with the way he was being looked at. Lovekin’s neighbor, for the record, is a married man with kids. The whole thing freaked him out, especially since he’s on blood thinners, which could’ve made a hit like that really dangerous.
So now, Lovekin’s is in the BSO Main Jail. He’s facing some serious charges like aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery causing bodily harm, and a couple of prejudice-related charges. The judge set his bond at $15,000 and slapped on some electronic monitoring for good measure, plus a no-contact order with the neighbor.
And that’s how a couple of mangos can turn into a felony case down here in Florida.