Man annoyed by bus stop aimed sprinklers at kids with disabilities, FL cops say

A neighborhood dispute over bus stop placement escalated to assault when a Florida homeowner began timing his sprinklers to douse students with disabilities going to and from school, according to investigators.

The drenching got so bad, one dad began wearing a bathing suit to the bus stop, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said in an Aug. 19 news release.

An arrest was made Sunday, Aug. 17, nearly four months 61-year-old Antonio Roman was first accused of harassing neighbors in Ocala, the sheriff’s office said.

“Roman was utilizing a surveillance system and sprinkler system to intentionally spray the family who lived next door,” the sheriff’s office said.

“The victims advised that since August 8, 2024, Roman has consistently activated his sprinklers twice a day when two of the victims, who have special needs, were loaded and unloaded from the school bus. ... The father had begun wearing swimming attire to shield his children from Roman’s sprinklers.”

Surveillance of the neighborhood confirmed the sprinklers were aimed directly at the bus stop, and the system “activated when the bus arrived and deactivated as soon as it left the area,” the sheriff’s office.

“Contact was made with Roman via telephone, who advised that he was upset about the location of the bus stop and did not like that it utilized part of his driveway for the wheelchair ramp one of the victims needed,” officials said.

“When confronted about using the surveillance cameras to track the arrival time and manually activating the sprinklers, Roman admitted that he did this because he was upset that the bus was ‘on [his] side’.”

A warrant was issued for his arrest, but was not served due to Roman being “at his secondary residence out of state,” officials said.

“When he returned to his Marion County residence, Roman contacted MCSO to turn himself in, at which time deputies responded to his home and placed him under arrest,” the sheriff’s office said.

He has been charged with “four counts of stalking, two counts of battery on a disabled person, and two counts of battery,” the sheriff’s office says.

Ocala is about an 80-mile drive northwest from Orlando.

This story was originally published August 19, 2025 at 11:58 AM with the headline "Man annoyed by bus stop aimed sprinklers at kids with disabilities, FL cops say."