STOLEN BOAT LEADS TO ARREST OF MAN WHO LIKES TO BE TASERED NAKED

 

Diving naked into a lake is not the best way to avoid arrest for stealing a boat, but that’s just what Darrel Horne did in Pierson Friday afternoon. He and his accomplice, Matthew Shrider, had taken a John Boat from a covered boat dock on Lake Botts, but could easily been seen from shore when Volusia County deputies responded to the scene. Shrider obeyed a deputy’s commands to return to shore, but Horne had other ideas. A Sheriff’s Office helicopter and a Florida Fish and Wildlife boat were deployed to find Horne when no one had seen him make it to shore after his skinny dip. 

He was discovered in a heavily wooded area and finally apprehended. But Horne’s belligerence continued when he kicked Shrider several times while both men were in the back of a patrol car. Horne essentially dared deputies to use a Taser on him, taunting them with “Taser me. Taser me, Bro.” When he refused to comply with a deputy’s orders, he was Tasered. After calming down later, Horned apologized and even thanked deputies for Tasering him.

The pair’s adventure started at about 4 p.m. when they said that their truck ran out of gas as they were on their way to see a friend who lived on the other side of Lake Botts. They then decided to take the boat from the dock on Richardson Lane. However, there were no paddles, so the men found a piece of wood to use. 

A neighbor of the boat owner called the victim to report the theft he had just witnessed. He said he watched as the pair, one of whom was carrying an axe, walked to the dock and then paddled the boat into the lake. The boat owner then called the Sheriff’s Office.

When deputies arrived, they saw the stolen boat in the middle of the lake and ordered the men to return. Horne started to curse at the deputies and take off his clothes. He then dove in and swam in the opposite direction, cursing and making hand gestures as he went. Meanwhile, 27-year-old Shrider paddled the boat back to the dock. Found in the boat were the axe, a can of beer and a bottle of rum. Since it couldn’t be determined if Horne had made it to shore, additional resources were called in to search for him. The Florida Fish and Wildlife boat eventually transported the naked 28-year-old back to the dock.

The men were transported to the Sheriff’s Office’s Pierson office. But while they were still together in the back of a patrol car there, Horne repeatedly kicked Shrider, making the car rock while Shrider yelled at him to stop. A deputy ordered Horne to stop, but he refused. The deputy then opened the door and armed himself with a Taser while continuing to order Horne to comply. 

Horne responded with “Taser me. Taser me, Bro” and prepared to kick Shrider again. The deputy fired the Taser, and Horne then complied with all of the deputy’s orders. Later, Horne apologized to deputies and thanked them for Tasering him.

Both men were charged with armed burglary, grand theft and resisting an officer without violence. They were booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach.