Bell man admits to firing a shot at tree trimmer

By Carrie A. Mizell

A sworn complaint has been filed against a Bell man who reportedly threatened to shoot a man in the head who was hired to trim trees on his property.
According to the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office, Edward Lamar Bass, 56, of 4740 NW 27th Court in Bell, was reportedly upset that tree limbs were being cut on his property by a sub-contractor hired by Central Florida Electric.
Bass reportedly walked up to a tree trimming machine being operated by Christopher Lewis of Old Town and told him to get off of his property.
Bass then went to his truck and came back with a shotgun, which he aimed at Lewis’ head, but apparently pulled it up before firing a shot.
Bass then re-loaded his gun and told Lewis that the next shot would be in his head.
Before Lewis could call 911, Bass had left the scene, but was reportedly pulled over in the Bell town limits by a deputy from the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office.
While interviewing Bass, deputies said that he spontaneously said that he did fire a shot, which led to why he is being charged with a felony charge of aggravated assault.
According to Gilchrist County Sheriff Daniel Slaughter, this incident is not the first time Bass has threatened someone with a firearm. He has been banned from Bell Elementary School after threatening a student there, Sheriff Slaughter explained.
In that case, Slaughter said that his office did not have enough evidence to charge Bass.
Despite Bass’ history, Sheriff Slaughter said that he is more inclined to label Bass, who is on oxygen, as an “ornery, old man” than an actual threat to the comunity.
When asked why Bass was not arrested when he was stopped in Bell after threatening Lewis with last week, Sheriff Slaughter said that it took an hour for his officers to determine if Bass had actually fired a shot at Lewis or up in the air, which he said is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony.
Sheriff Slaughter went on to say that the firearm Bass used to threaten Lewis last week was located inside Bass’ home and been turned over to a relative.
“I am not qualified to judge a person’s mental state,” Slaughter said. “But I know, I don’t want him to have contact with a firearm.”
Investigators at the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office were still working on the case at press time Tuesday.
According to Sheriff Slaughter, Christopher Lewis’ employer Davey Tree Service, wanted to see Bass arrested for firing shots at one of their employees.