The alleged victim of an early morning May 31 hostage situation by her son is now rallying around him.
Gerald Harles II, 30, was arrested by the Holmes Beach Police Department after more than 40 law enforcement officers from HBPD and Manatee County responded to his parents’ 911 calls.
In a waiver of prosecution filed June 8 in the 12th Circuit Court, Harles’ mother, Judy, stated, “I did not see him with a weapon during the incident. I did not feel threatened during the incident.”
Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said, “I think she’s contradicting herself,” adding it’s now up to the court.
In several calls to 911 during the six-hour incident in the elder Harles home in the 500 block of 68th Street, the parents told dispatchers their son was tearing the house apart, taking down doors.
In the first call, Judy Harles told the dispatcher her son was “tearing up everything in the house,” she’d locked herself in a “safe” bathroom and didn’t think he had access to guns.
In a second 911 call, Judy Harles told a dispatcher, “We do have guns” and “bullets.”
Her husband, Gerald Harles, also called 911, saying his son was “threatening to kill us.”
Gary Harles’ attorney, Peter Lombardo of Bradenton, said his client is working, living with a friend and wants the court to allow non-harmful contact with his mother.
He was released June 7 on a $50,000 cash bond.
A June 1 court order prohibits any contact with the alleged victims, he said.
Asked whether the law enforcement response was out of proportion, Lombardo said, “I think so.”
“I’ve always thought it was a very serious situation. The police have to treat these kinds of situations these days seriously. But most of the time here, Gary was asleep,” he added.
HBPD Detective Brian Hall arrived on the scene at about 5:55 a.m., in response to an armed man holding his parents hostage.
Hall reported he was briefed by the MCSO about the parents’ 911 calls and spoke to the parents, who left the house at about 6 a.m.
Their son exited the home and surrendered to police at about 10 a.m.
“The mom never felt threatened,” Lombardo said, adding “she’s rallying around him like a mom.”
HBPD filed an aggravated assault with a firearm charge.
As of press time, the state had not filed a formal charge. It has 175 days to file a felony and 90 days to file a misdemeanor, Assistant State Attorney Darlene Ragoonanan said.
Police were called to the residence at 4:30 a.m. Harles’ mother later stated her “drunk” son entered the house after she turned him and three friends away at 3:30 a.m.
However, HBPD reported a 46-year-old female was found in a downstairs bedroom.
Dispatch had asked the mother about weapons being involved in the incident, and while she initially told the dispatcher no, in another call to 911, she told the dispatcher the situation had changed.
She later wrote, “I went downstairs and realized that Gary had broken the gun cabinet so I called 911 and told them he was at the gun cabinet.”
An HBPD report by Sgt. Kevin Powers stated Judy Harles met him at the front door.
Powers wrote: “Over her shoulder, I saw a white male, later identified as Gary Alois Harles II, coming from a hallway. He had a rifle or shotgun in his hands. I saw and heard what appeared (to be) a round being placed in the chamber.”
Police then retreated as dispatch informed officers that the parents were afraid to leave “for fear of being shot by Gary.”
Gary Harles’ arraignment is set for 9 a.m. Friday, July 1.
Lombardo’s motion for a “no-harmful” contact order is set for 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 6.
The hearings will be at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.