REPOSSESSION

Bruce Peltonen's Self-Defense Story

Discover how USCCA Membership provided critical support to Bruce, helping him navigate legal challenges and reclaim his life.

Location: Clermont, Florida
Charges: Aggravated Assault With a Deadly Weapon
Not Guilty: Charges Dropped
$16,670: Legal fees covered

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Bruce Peltonen may have saved a man's life one night ... but he spent it face-down on his own property in the end.

Bruce was 64, a U.S. Air Force veteran with service in Vietnam, an evangelical preacher, and a member of the Cheyenne nation. Married with 10 grown children, 26 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren, he managed Oak Lane Mobile Home Park in Lake County, Florida, where he lived with his wife, Connie.

On the evening of March 21, 2018, Bruce was up on a ladder outside his home when a tow truck barreled into the park, hot on the tail of a sedan. He climbed down to see what was happening.

The tow-truck operators were repossession agents, there to take a neighbor's car…

Florida law heavily regulates how repo men can operate, and Bruce, as park manager, told them they were violating it. They told him to mind his own business. The dispute escalated into a fistfight. The car owner landed a punch on one operator's nose. The operator responded with pepper spray.

One of the repo men reached into his pocket.

Bruce drew his 9mm Smith & Wesson 915.

"I anticipated that he was reaching for a gun," Bruce said, "so I brought mine out first and told him, 'Don't pull it out. Just don't do it!'"

The man set his handgun on the truck's center console and covered it with a sheet of paper.

Bruce holstered his own weapon and began photographing the truck and its plate for police. The repo men took the car anyway, hitched it to the tow truck, and called 911, claiming Bruce had threatened them.

Bruce called the sheriff's department himself, saying he feared for his life. The first officers on scene were calm and cooperative. The county sheriff, arriving later, was not.

"They asked if I was the one with the gun, and I said, 'Yes, sir,' and they asked where it was: in a holster in the flat of my back," Bruce said. "They then told me to get on the ground ... and they proceeded to put a knee in my back. I was flat, laying facedown on the cement and felt humiliated."

He'd had his USCCA Membership card out before officers arrived, hoping to call the association himself. Instead, it ended up on the ground with everything else in his pockets.

He was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a third-degree felony in Florida carrying up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Bond was set at $2,000.

An officer noticed the card anyway.

"You a member?"

"Yes, I am."

"You want your wife to have this?"

Connie called the Critical Response Team Bruce had access to through his USCCA Membership. Within four hours, a USCCA-affiliated attorney, Alan Diamond of Funk, Szachacz & Diamond in Melbourne, a board-certified criminal defense trial specialist, had arranged bond.

Bruce was home in his own bed the same night ... the charge was later dropped entirely.

"Just because you believe you have done the right thing and saved somebody's life doesn't mean you won't go to jail," Bruce said.

His situation changed in an instant. Being prepared for what happens before, during, and after ... that's what makes the difference in a self-defense incident.

That's what being a USCCA Member is all about – being a FULLY prepared protector.

Surviving an attack is only half the battle.

The legal fight that follows can be just as devastating to your freedom, family, and finances.

Attorney retainer:

$25k–$100k+

Expert witnesses:

$5k–$15k

(each)

Trial & bail costs:

$100k–$500k+

JOIN 860,400+ MEMBERS

When you take advantage of the education, training, and self-defense liability insurance¹ you get with your USCCA^® Membership, you'll be ready for the before, during, AND after of a deadly encounter.

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