Reported by Staff

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Authorities have taken 69-year-old Brian Curtis Zoerheide into custody on charges of pursuing an 11-year-old boy with his vehicle and allegedly accelerating his car in the boy’s direction.

On the afternoon of October 18, around 1:50 p.m., a deputy from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to Oak Park Mobile Home Park. The young boy recounted that after mowing a yard for a resident, he decided to knock on doors to pass time while awaiting payment. He approached a man seated in a car with the driver’s side door ajar, asking if he needed his yard mowed. The man reportedly responded with curses and shouted at the boy. When the boy explained his presence, the man allegedly retorted with, “I hate black boys,” continuing to curse as the boy apologized and left.

While heading back towards his home, the boy said he heard two women warning him to look back. He turned to see a red car approaching him from the wrong side of the street. Walking against traffic, he feared the driver intended to hit him. He provided a description of the man and his attire to authorities.

One of the witnesses informed the deputy that she observed the man verbally assaulting the boy while sitting in his vehicle. As the boy walked away, the man reportedly pursued him in the car, nearly striking him as he sped by her.

The second witness corroborated the account, noting she saw the man shouting at the boy before he left. She then saw the man retrieve a bicycle tire, place it in his car, and drive off rapidly in the boy’s direction. Later, she saw the boy looking frightened and out of breath. She beckoned him to run towards her as the man, with the car door ajar, held the tire out while accelerating toward the boy.

The women said the boy got into their car for safety.

The man, later identified as Zoerheide, reportedly provided a written statement, saying he was frightened when he opened his door and saw the boy. He said he wanted to find out who the boy’s parents were, but “I in no way chased after him.”

Post Miranda, Zoerheide reportedly did not want to answer any questions without a lawyer.

The deputy’s investigation found that Zoerheide accelerated toward the boy, placing “a well-founded fear” in the boy that he would be harmed.

Zoerheide has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He has no local criminal convictions; he was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with property damage in 2022 after an accident on I-75, but the charge was later dropped. Judge James Colaw set bail at $100,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.