OKEECHOBEE — A mother and son were arrested Saturday after an anonymous caller reported seeing three men selling drugs in the 3200 block of Southeast 33rd Terrace. Richard Marvin Chapman III, 34, was charged with possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, resisting an officer with violence and assault on a law enforcement officer. His bond was set at $26,000. His mother was charged with misdemeanor assault on a law enforcement officer and obstruction without violence. Her bond was set at $2,000.

Richard Marvin Chapman III

On Oct. 12 at approximately 4 p.m., Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Deputy Devon Satallante responded to Southeast 33rd Terrace in reference to a call regarding a suspicious person. The caller said three people were selling and using narcotics and had been for the last three days. According to the arrest reports, when Deputy Satallante arrived, he saw three men standing by an outside power outlet, and one of them, later identified as Richard Chapman, was reportedly using an electric hand grinder to sharpen an engraved, 12-inch antique knife. Deputy Satallante asked him to put the knife down, and he did. One of the men left and was never identified. The other two men reportedly became hostile and started yelling and using profane language.

Chapman allegedly began to bow up in a fighting stance, and the other man got out his cellphone and began filming the interaction. Deputy Satallante pulled out his taser, and told Chapman to calm down, and at that point, Chapman’s mother reportedly walked over and began yelling at Deputy Satallante. Dispatch informed Deputy Satallante that Chapman was a convicted felon, and the deputy asked Chapman where the knife was, because it had disappeared, but Chapman reportedly refused to tell him. Deputy Satallante explained to him that he was in violation of the law by being in possession of a 12-inch knife, and Chapman reportedly became aggressive again, and Deputy Satallante eventually deployed his taser, striking him in the chest. When he fell on the ground, his mother reportedly began yelling at them hysterically to stop and tried to climb over the deputies to get to her son, but she finally turned and walked away, saying something to the deputies over her shoulder. This was when she was arrested as well.

EMS was called to the scene to remove the taser probes, and they were both transported to the Okeechobee County Jail without further incident.