DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A Florida man has been accused of spraying his neighbors with roach spray and attempting to use nunchucks on them -- hitting himself in the head instead -- over a loud music complaint, court records say.
Larry Darnell Adams, 61, of Daytona Beach, is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to Volusia County court records.
A charging affidavit filed by a Daytona Beach police officer states that the officer was called to a disturbance around 1:15 a.m. Monday at Adams’ apartment building, where he spoke to five alleged victims, all women. According to their statements, two of the women were sitting in a car listening to music to celebrate one victim’s 18th birthday.
Two of the other women, who are related, stepped out of their apartment and asked the women in the car to turn the music down. The fifth woman was nearby in the parking lot.
As the women talked, Adams came out of his apartment and became verbally combative with the women, the affidavit says.
“The victims stood their ground as the defendant cursed and made various threats, one time threatening to ‘air it out,’” the document states.
The women took the slang as a threat that he would shoot them with a firearm, the officer wrote.
As the argument continued, Adams pulled out a can of roach spray and sprayed the women in their faces and bodies with the pesticide, the affidavit says.
Adams then threatened the women with a set of nunchucks, the officer wrote. The women believed him after being sprayed with the bug spray, the document says.
Adams used the martial arts weapon to strike the vehicle where the women had been listening to music.
“When the nunchucks inadvertently struck the defendant in the forehead, the defendant then threw the nunchucks at (the car),” the officer wrote.
The car was not damaged.
Adams called 911, as did one of the victims and a man who witnessed at least part of the incident. The witness told investigators he saw Adams “spray something” at the women, as well as one woman holding up a chair in front of her to block the spray.
Read the entire charging affidavit against Larry Adams below.
Larry Darnell Adams Charging Document by National Content Desk on Scribd
Daytona Beach fire medics responded to the scene to treat any injuries, which the affidavit says included a small cut to Adams’ forehead from his nunchucks. His mugshot shows the cut and a knot on his forehead.
An officer went to Adams’ apartment to check on his daughter, according to the document. While in the home, the officer found the nunchucks, an empty can of roach spray and a can of pepper spray, the records show.
The officer also found a silver box holding a loaded 12-round magazine for a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun and a total of 60 9 mm bullets in a sock on Adams’ bed, where his daughter was sleeping.
Court documents indicate Adams’ daughter is 7 years old.
The bullets and magazine were seized for safekeeping, the affidavit says.
The report did not specify if or where officers found the gun that the magazine belonged to. When Adams was searched, he was found to have a headlamp, a light and some paperwork. Those items were also taken to the police station for safekeeping.
Adams’ daughter was placed in the custody of a family member, the report says.
According to the report, Adams was booked into the Volusia County Jail without bond.
Jail records show Monday's incident is not the first time Adams has been accused of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, nor is it the first time he is accused of trying to use nunchucks on someone. He was booked on similar charges in August and December 2015.
Adams was arrested Aug. 1, 2015, after he was accused of going after his live-in girlfriend of two weeks with the weapon. Court records indicate the victim told officers Adams became angry when she went to the restroom and that he began drinking a beer.
The woman said she confronted Adams about drinking because he had an unspecified health issue. When she did so, “he grabbed a set of nunchucks and began twirling them around,” the affidavit says.
Adams threatened to hit her with them, at which point the woman said she became afraid for her safety, as well as the safety of Adams’ then-3-year-old daughter, who was in the apartment. The woman left the apartment and called police.
The little girl was taken from the scene by her uncle, the report says. Adams’ girlfriend declined to pursue charges, but Adams was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The charge was dropped less than a month later, court records show.
The charging documents in the incident that December allege that Adams got into a fight with his ex-girlfriend, the mother of their daughter, at an Aldi grocery store in Daytona Beach. Adams was also accused of threatening to kill other customers inside the store.
“You don’t think I got my piece on me?” Adams told a couple in the checkout line as he reached into his pocket, according to the affidavit. It was unclear if he knew the people.
The couple had two small children, ages 10 and 8, with them at the time of the incident, court records show. Adams’ own toddler daughter was also with him during the altercation with her mother and the other customers.
Outside, Adams was accused of going to his vehicle and screaming, “Come at me, I’m a member of the NRA (National Rifle Association),” the court documents say.
The assault and battery charges against Adams in that case were dropped in October 2016.