SPRING HILL -- Alfred Lattanzio, angry about losing his job, went to his former boss' Spring Hill home Tuesday, threatened him with a knife, got chased off with a rake and then carjacked a truck full of teenagers, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office reported.
No one was hurt, but Lattanzio, 6180 Newmark St., was later arrested and charged with aggravated assault, carjacking and false imprisonment. He remained in the Hernando County Jail on Wednesday, held on $1,250 bail after County Judge Peyton Hyslop reduced it from $17,000.
Charles Corbett III said he fired Lattanzio, 25, from his floor-covering business Tuesday. He said he fired him after a client caught Lattanzio going through her jewelry box.
Corbett, 27, told Lattanzio they could still be friends. Lattanzio visited his house Tuesday night and, according to Corbett, stole $2 from a counter top.
Angry, Corbett told Lattanzio to leave.
"If he would have asked me, I'd have given him $2," Corbett said. "He could have stolen a penny, and it would have been the same principle."
Corbett said Lattanzio took a knife out of his backpack and put it into his pocket. Corbett's brother, Craig, called, and Corbett asked him to come over.
Corbett's brother arrived and got into an argument with Lattanzio, Corbett said.
Lattanzio pulled out the 6-inch knife and moved toward Corbett's brother, authorities said.
Corbett picked up a rake.
"I was holding it like a baseball bat, with the ends sticking out," Corbett told the Times. "I said, 'If you don't drop that knife right now, I'm going to take your head off.' "
Lattanzio dropped the knife. Corbett dropped the rake. Lattanzio fled.
He flagged down a dark green Ford Explorer with three teenagers inside, authorities said.
He pressed something, claiming it was a stun gun, into the side of Trenton Szabo, 17, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, authorities said. He ordered the teens to hand over all their money; they gave him loose change.
Gary Gromer, 17, jumped out of the vehicle and ran down the street, screaming.
"Someone was screaming at the top of their lungs," Corbett said. "I look down the road and see a kid running as fast as he possibly can."
Corbett called the Sheriff's Office.
Meanwhile, Lattanzio ordered the driver, Stephen Schug, 16, to take him home.
Authorities found Lattanzio at his father's house on Newmark Street, where he was arrested.
Deputies think he used a cell phone, rather than a stun gun, to scare the teens.
"Our friendship is over," Corbett said. "It's definitely over." You can join Unsolved Mysteries and post your own mysteries or
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