Staff Report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 69-year-old man named Brian Curtis Zoerheide has been taken into custody following accusations of pursuing an 11-year-old boy with his vehicle and accelerating towards him.

On October 18, around 1:50 p.m., an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy was dispatched to Oak Park Mobile Home Park. The young victim recounted that he had just finished mowing a lawn for a resident and was knocking on doors while waiting for payment. He approached a man seated in a car with the driver’s door open to offer his services. The man responded with yelling and curses. When the boy explained his intentions, the man reportedly said, “I hate black boys,” continuing to curse as the boy apologized and walked away.

As the boy headed back to his own home, he noticed two women who warned him to look behind him. Turning around, he saw a red car coming towards him. The boy was walking against traffic, and the car was on the wrong side of the road, prompting fear that the driver intended to hit him. He provided a description of the man and his attire.

One of the women present told the deputy that she witnessed the man verbally assaulting the boy from his car. She further stated that after the boy walked away, the man pursued him with his vehicle, nearly hitting him as he sped past her location.

The other woman reportedly said she saw the man yelling at the boy, and after the boy walked away, she saw the man pick up a bicycle tire and carry it into his car. She said he “sped off” in the direction of the boy, and the next time she saw the boy, he appeared to be “panting, clearly distraught, and scared.” She called to the boy to run toward her, and she said the man opened his driver’s side door and held the bicycle tire out as he sped 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.