Driver rams car into ex-employer's building

He tells deputies the Crystal River business had done him wrong. Damage amounted to several thousand dollars.

By SUZANNAH GONZALES
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 1, 2003

CRYSTAL RIVER -- A Homosassa man upset at his former employer crashed his vehicle into the business' building, authorities said.

Scott George Houts, 44, drove his 1988 four-door Lincoln through the exterior wall of American Spaceframe Fabricators Inc. at 9030 W Fort Island Trail, Crystal River, an arrest report said. The car came to a stop inside, causing several thousand dollars in damage, the report said.

The incident happened either late Monday night or early Tuesday morning.

From tire tracks in a grassy area near the parking lot, a deputy from the Citrus County Sheriff's Office surmised that Houts backed his car into the grass and deliberately drove straight toward the business, according to the report.

When the deputy responded to the scene, Houts was lying on the ground in the parking lot with minor injuries, the report said. He appeared to be intoxicated, the report said.

Houts, who was hostile toward his former employer, told the deputy he deliberately targeted the business, which he said had done him wrong, the report said.

Houts then handed the deputy a note that he wrote before crashing into the business. The note indicated Houts' anger toward the business owners and showed that Houts had planned to run his vehicle into the building, the arrest report said.

The note was placed in the evidence locker at the Sheriff's Office.

Attempts to reach Houts and his former employer, James West, 46, of Beverly Hills, on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Houts received medical treatment at the scene and then was transported to Seven Rivers Community Hospital for further treatment and a medical evaluation, the report said.

After being released from the hospital, Houts was arrested at his Homosassa residence, 8405 W Kimberly Court. He was held on one count of criminal mischief.

Houts was released from the Citrus County jail Tuesday afternoon after posting $1,000 bail.

-- Suzannah Gonzales can be reached at sgonzales@sptimes.com or 860-7300.

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